Health

Study: Obesity Slows in Rich Nations, Rises in Poorer Ones

Is obesity a crisis finally being tamed by policy and medicine or an accelerating problem in low-income countries?

Published MAY 13

Study: Obesity Slows in Rich Nations, Rises in Poorer Ones

Story

Above: A woman exercises as part of the Obesity Therapy Program at Leipzig University Hospital, Germany, June 5, 2025. Image credit: Jan Woitas/picture alliance/Getty Images

The Facts

A study published Wednesday in the journal Nature, led by researchers at Imperial College London, found that obesity rates have slowed, plateaued or potentially declined in many high-income countries, while continuing to rise in most low- and middle-income nations.
Nature
Imperial College London
The analysis drew on data from 4,050 population-based studies covering 232 million participants aged five and older across 200 countries and territories, spanning the period from 1980 to 2024, with more than 1,900 researchers contributing to the work.
Guardian
Daily Mail
In the U.K., obesity rates among girls plateaued around 2000 and among boys shortly after, while rates for women and men continued to rise but at a slower pace, reaching 29.6% and 26.7%, respectively, by 2024.
Daily Mail
Express.co.uk
The U.S. recorded some of the highest obesity levels among high-income western countries, at 40–43% for adults and 20–23% for children and adolescents in 2024, though the rate of increase has slowed for adults and plateaued for younger age groups.
STAT
Imperial College London
Denmark was the first country to record a slowdown in childhood obesity, around 1990, followed by Iceland, Switzerland, Belgium and Germany through the 1990s. By the mid-2000s, rising childhood obesity had levelled off across most high-income countries.
Guardian
EL PAÍS English
Researchers noted that GLP-1 receptor agonists, such as Ozempic, are not yet considered to have had a measurable impact on the population-level trends captured in the study, though they predicted the drugs could play a significant role in future obesity trajectories.
Imperial College London

Sources Split

LEFT

CENTER

RIGHT

ESTAB
CRIT

CENTER

PRO
ESTAB

The Spin

Narrative A

Obesity rates are plateauing and even reversing in high-income countries, proving that smart public health policy actually works. Weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy are poised to accelerate that progress dramatically once access expands. The trend toward obesity was never inevitable — governments that acted decisively got results, and the data backs that up.

Imperial College London

Daily Mail

The Telegraph

Narrative B

Calling obesity a slowing crisis ignores that rates are hitting record highs in dozens of low- and middle-income countries, with no sign of stopping. Globalization is exporting Western dietary patterns to nations that lack the resources to fight back. Expensive weight-loss drugs remain out of reach for the populations that need them most, meaning the global burden is only getting more unequal.

Nature