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Share of children and adolescents who are overweight or obese

What you should know about this indicator

Definition

Percentage of defined population with a body mass index (BMI) greater than 1 standard deviation above the median, according to the WHO references for school-age children and adolescents.

Method of measurement

Based on measured height and weight.

Method of estimation

Input data and methods are described here: NCD-RisC. Worldwide trends in body-mass index, underweight, overweight, and obesity from 1975 to 2016: a pooled analysis of 2416 population-based measurement studies with 128.9 million participants. Lancet 2017. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(17)32129-3.

Share of children and adolescents who are overweight or obese
Percentage of defined population with a body mass index (BMI) greater than 1 standard deviation above the median, according to the WHO references for school-age children and adolescents.
Source
World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2024) – processed by Our World in Data
Last updated
January 3, 2024
Next expected update
January 2025
Date range
1975–2016
Unit
%

Related research and writing

What is obesity and how is it measured?

Hannah Ritchie

Sources and processing

This data is based on the following sources

The GHO data repository is WHO's gateway to health-related statistics for its 194 Member States. It provides access to over 1000 indicators on priority health topics including mortality and burden of diseases, the Millennium Development Goals (child nutrition, child health, maternal and reproductive health, immunization, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, neglected diseases, water and sanitation), non communicable diseases and risk factors, epidemic-prone diseases, health systems, environmental health, violence and injuries, equity among others.

Retrieved on
January 3, 2024
Retrieved from
https://www.who.int/data/gho
Citation
This is the citation of the original data obtained from the source, prior to any processing or adaptation by Our World in Data. To cite data downloaded from this page, please use the suggested citation given in Reuse This Work below.
World Health Organization. 2024. Global Health Observatory data repository. http://www.who.int/gho/en/. Accessed on 2024-01-03

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Citations

How to cite this page

To cite this page overall, including any descriptions, FAQs or explanations of the data authored by Our World in Data, please use the following citation:

“Data Page: Share of children and adolescents who are overweight or obese”. Our World in Data (2024). Data adapted from World Health Organization. Retrieved from https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/child-adolescent-obesity [online resource]
How to cite this data

In-line citationIf you have limited space (e.g. in data visualizations), you can use this abbreviated in-line citation:

World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2024) – processed by Our World in Data

Full citation

World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. “Share of children and adolescents who are overweight or obese” [dataset]. World Health Organization, “Global Health Observatory” [original data]. Retrieved November 24, 2024 from https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/child-adolescent-obesity