Adults: (BMI) in woman and men

WOMAN: The body mass index (BMI) is measured as a person's weight in kilogram (kg) divided by her hight (in meters), squared.

The WHO define a BMI 'underweight'; 18.5 to >30.0 as 'obese'

MEN: The body mass index (BMI) is measured as a person's weight in kilogram (kg) divided by his hight (in meters), squared.

The WHO define a BMI 'normal/healthy'; 25.0 to 30.0 as 'obese'

Mean BMI in adult women

Body Mass Index (BMI) is used to define the share of individuals that are underweight, in the ‘healthy’ range, overweight and obese.

In the map here we see the distribution of mean BMI for adult women – aged 18 years and older – across the world. The global mean BMI for women in 2016 was 25 – just on the threshold from the WHO’s ‘healthy’ to ‘overweight’ classification. This has increased from a mean BMI of 22 – in the mid-range of ‘healthy’ – in the 1970s.

Mean BMI in adult men

Body Mass Index (BMI) is used to define the share of individuals that are underweight, in the ‘healthy’ range, overweight and obese.

In the map here we see the distribution of mean BMI for adult men – aged 18 years and older – across the world. The global mean BMI for men in 2016 was 24.5 – just on the threshold from the WHO’s ‘healthy’ to ‘overweight’ classification. This has increased from a mean BMI of 21.7 – in the mid-range of ‘healthy’ – in the 1970s.

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