Obesity Rates in the United States, France, and Japan

Chart by
First published: Wednesday April 20th, 2022

Over time, the percentage of adults with a BMI over 30 has increased in all three countries.

Loading Chart

Show Chart Data >>

Hide Chart Data >>

Year	United States	France	Japan
1975	11.7	9.1	1
1976	12.1	9.3	1.1
1977	12.4	9.6	1.1
1978	12.7	9.8	1.2
1979	13.1	10.1	1.2
1980	13.5	10.3	1.3
1981	13.9	10.6	1.3
1982	14.3	10.8	1.3
1983	14.8	11	1.4
1984	15.2	11.3	1.4
1985	15.8	11.6	1.4
1986	16.3	11.8	1.5
1987	16.9	12.1	1.5
1988	17.5	12.4	1.6
1989	18.1	12.7	1.6
1990	18.7	13	1.6
1991	19.4	13.3	1.7
1992	20.1	13.7	1.7
1993	20.8	14	1.8
1994	21.5	14.4	1.8
1995	22.3	14.8	1.9
1996	23	15.2	1.9
1997	23.8	15.6	2
1998	24.6	16	2.1
1999	25.4	16.4	2.1
2000	26.1	16.8	2.2
2001	26.9	17.3	2.3
2002	27.7	17.7	2.4
2003	28.4	18.1	2.5
2004	29.2	18.5	2.6
2005	29.9	18.9	2.7
2006	30.6	19.3	2.9
2007	31.3	19.7	3
2008	32	20	3.2
2009	32.7	20.4	3.3
2010	33.4	20.8	3.5
2011	34	21.2	3.6
2012	34.7	21.6	3.8
2013	35.4	22	3.9
2014	36	22.4	4.1
2015	36.7	22.8	4.2
2016	37.3	23.2	4.4

+16

Level 60

Apr 20, 2022

The future is looking chonky🤔🤣

Level 68

Apr 21, 2022

I've never heard someone talk about humans when saying "look at that chonker" and I hate it already 😫

Level 49

Jan 25, 2023

Woowie, look at that chonker

Level 59

Apr 21, 2022

What's interesting about this graph is that any explanation for obesity that focuses on how certain countries have better diets, more walkability, etc can only explain the relative differences between them. The fact the literally every country in the world without exception has seen obesity rates rise fairly linearly suggests that something more fundamental is at play. Chemicals maybe?

+10

Level 78

Apr 21, 2022

There's a simpler explanation for that: hunger is no longer a thing in developed countries. Virtually everyone has access to as much affordable food as they want to eat. This was not the case a few decades ago.

Level 82

Apr 21, 2022

chemicals? wth are you talking about? What chemicals? The fact is that there has been a proliferation of unhealthy foods in almost all countries and a concurrent reduction in levels of daily activity. We consume more calories and burn through less of them every day. It's not mysterious why this is happening.

Level 73

Apr 21, 2022

It's not out of line to suggest endocrine disruptors in our modern environment are messing up with our feeling of satiety or metabolic rate

Level 82

Apr 21, 2022

Show me the peer-reviewed study and the other studies that corroborate its findings. The science behind "calories in > calories out = get fat" has several hundred thousand studies backing it up. People don't want to accept that it's that simple, though, because it suggests they may be personally responsible for their own weight gain, or that they need to eat fewer hamburgers and go outside more.

Level 56

Apr 21, 2022

I don't know if I'd jump to the conclusion of chemicals so quickly. I'd probably account for the proliferation of social media, the internet, and general entertainment as a more reasonable idea for why obesity is increasing. People are more distracted by entertainment and aren't exercising as much.

Level 62

Apr 21, 2022

People lead much more sedentary lives than any other time in history. I would say that is more at fault than anything. The number of people who spend all their working hours at a computer desk to come home to a delivery meal and then sit and watch Netflix has gone through the roof (I am one of them).

Level 65

Apr 27, 2022

Yes, technology and sedentary lifestyles likely explain the trend for all countries. As societies become more industrialized and more tech heavy, there are less people working manual labor jobs as well.

Level ∞

May 6, 2022

@Alex, I think you are probably correct.

Level 56

Apr 21, 2022

all of these theories when the real explanation be that people eating

Level 67

Jul 31, 2022

Ultra processed foods are the problem. The issue is exacerbated by rampant capitalism in two ways. Firstly, people crave things that aren't good for them and so the fast food industry is very profitable.Veges and legumes don't offer the same exponential growth potential that ready meals do, so supermarkets are filled with junk.

Secondly, as real incomes have fallen over the past 40 years, people have less time to devote to preparing healthy meals. It is much easier for someone working 12 hour days to microwave a ready made lasagne than spend an hour chopping veges.

It is easy to blame the fat for being fat, but it is important to note how difficult it is be healthy. So many people don't have time, or can't afford, to eat healthily. Fresh vegetables are expensive, and so is people's time.

(Exercise is important for so many reasons, but food plays a much bigger role in the obesity epidemic)

Level 20

Nov 3, 2022

I agree. Lower income households can't keep up with the higher cost of healthier food. The TV dinner has and always will be cheaper than its homemade version.

As stated in the comments above, people live much more sedentary lives as the necessity of labour-intensive physical jobs are more and more automated. Furthermore, the US and Canada are great example of car dependent societies.

Climate is also a viable explanation for lack of execise. Hot, humid weather in the Caribbean doesn't incentivize exercise, and neither do below 0 temps.

Some societies are living this "perfect storm" of obesity, like the US. With the normalization of body positivity comes the risk of disinformation of the dangers of obesity and malnutrition. School systems should do a better job teaching nutrition, and so should parents at home (wishful thinking).

Food health nowadays seems like a mark of luxury, and fitness is a rich person's game. Play with your food, make your veggie dishes enjoyable again :)

Level 25

Nov 17, 2022

Dang bruh we got some big people here in America

Level 39

Jan 11, 2024

BMI is kind of a bad indicator though; bf% would be a better statistic. Of course, the difference wouldn't be much, but still.