Serious overweight/obesity

Persons aged 20 years and older with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 kg/m² or more. BMI is defined as an individual’s body weight in kilogrammes divided by the square of their height in metres.

Most obesity figures released by the OECD countries are self-reported, but in some countries obesity figures are actually measured. Research proves that self-reported figures on body weight are kept systematically low.

The figures refer to the adult population. The age limit varies by country but ranges between 15 and 20.

The OECD average regarding obesity is based on the figures from 15 OECD countries, as not all OECD countries have enough data available.