Share of men defined as underweight, healthy, overweight and obese in China

China: Share of men defined as underweight, healthy, overweight and obese was 3.4% in 2014. ▼ Falling

Latest (2014)
3.4%
Change on year
down 8.1%
World rank
79th
of 198 countries
All-time high
11.4%
in 1975
All-time low
3.4%
in 2014
Years of data
40
1975–2014

Share of men defined as underweight, healthy, overweight and obese in China, 1975–2014

46810121975199420141975: 11.4 %1976: 11.3 %1977: 11.3 %1978: 11.2 %1979: 11.1 %1980: 11.1 %1981: 11 %1982: 10.9 %1983: 10.9 %1984: 10.8 %1985: 10.8 %1986: 10.7 %1987: 10.6 %1988: 10.5 %1989: 10.4 %1990: 10.3 %1991: 10.1 %1992: 9.9 %1993: 9.7 %1994: 9.5 %1995: 9.3 %1996: 9 %1997: 8.7 %1998: 8.4 %1999: 8 %2000: 7.7 %2001: 7.4 %2002: 7 %2003: 6.7 %2004: 6.4 %2005: 6 %2006: 5.7 %2007: 5.4 %2008: 5.1 %2009: 4.8 %2010: 4.5 %2011: 4.2 %2012: 3.9 %2013: 3.7 %2014: 3.4 %

Source: NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (2017) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

The most recent figure for share of men defined as underweight, healthy, overweight and obese in China is 3.4%, measured in 2014. That is the lowest value across all 40 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 8.1% on the previous year and down 46.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of men defined as underweight, healthy, overweight and obese in China peaked at 11.4% in 1975 and was at its lowest, 3.4%, in 2014.

China ranks 79th of 198 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 40 years of available data.

Share of men defined as underweight, healthy, overweight and obese in China, year by year

Annual values for Share of men defined as underweight, healthy, overweight and obese in China, 1975 to 2014.
Year % Change
1975 11.4%
1976 11.3% -0.9%
1977 11.3% +0.0%
1978 11.2% -0.9%
1979 11.1% -0.9%
1980 11.1% +0.0%
1981 11.0% -0.9%
1982 10.9% -0.9%
1983 10.9% +0.0%
1984 10.8% -0.9%
1985 10.8% +0.0%
1986 10.7% -0.9%
1987 10.6% -0.9%
1988 10.5% -0.9%
1989 10.4% -1.0%
1990 10.3% -1.0%
1991 10.1% -1.9%
1992 9.9% -2.0%
1993 9.7% -2.0%
1994 9.5% -2.1%
1995 9.3% -2.1%
1996 9.0% -3.2%
1997 8.7% -3.3%
1998 8.4% -3.4%
1999 8.0% -4.8%
2000 7.7% -3.7%
2001 7.4% -3.9%
2002 7.0% -5.4%
2003 6.7% -4.3%
2004 6.4% -4.5%
2005 6.0% -6.3%
2006 5.7% -5.0%
2007 5.4% -5.3%
2008 5.1% -5.6%
2009 4.8% -5.9%
2010 4.5% -6.2%
2011 4.2% -6.7%
2012 3.9% -7.1%
2013 3.7% -5.1%
2014 3.4% -8.1%

China compared with similar countries

  • China's 3.4% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 2.0%, 1.7× the median. (57 countries reporting)
  • China's 3.4% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 2.1%, 1.6× the median. (32 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 11.3% 11.1% 11.4% 5
1980s 10.8% 10.4% 11.1% 10
1990s 9.3% 8.0% 10.3% 10
2000s 6.2% 4.8% 7.7% 10
2010s 3.9% 3.4% 4.5% 5

Countries ranked near China

  1. 77 Morocco 3.6% compare
  2. 77 Saint Lucia 3.6% compare
  3. 79 Grenada 3.4% compare
  4. 81 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 3.3% compare
  5. 82 Taiwan 3.2% compare

See the full ranking of 198 places →

More reference data data for China

All data for China →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of men defined as underweight, healthy, overweight and obese in China?
Share of men defined as underweight, healthy, overweight and obese in China was 3.4% in 2014, according to NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (2017) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest share of men defined as underweight, healthy, overweight and obese recorded in China?
The highest recorded value was 11.4% in 1975.
What is the lowest share of men defined as underweight, healthy, overweight and obese recorded in China?
The lowest recorded value was 3.4% in 2014.
How does China rank for share of men defined as underweight, healthy, overweight and obese?
China ranks 79th out of 198 countries with data for 2014.
Is share of men defined as underweight, healthy, overweight and obese rising or falling in China?
Over the last ten years it is down 46.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this China data come from?
The figures come from NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (2017) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of men defined as underweight, healthy, overweight and obese. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 40 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Share of men defined as underweight, healthy, overweight and obese in China. Statizoid, drawing on NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (2017) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 22 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/men-weight-categories/china/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/men-weight-categories/china/">Share of men defined as underweight, healthy, overweight and obese in China</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Share of men defined as underweight, healthy, overweight and obese
Unit
%
Source
NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (2017) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
198 places, 7,920 data points, 1975–2014
Last refreshed

Share of men (% of adult population), who are underweight, healthy/normal, overweight or obese based on body mass index (BMI). Body Mass Index (BMI) is a person's weight divided by their height squared. The WHO define a BMI <=18.5 as underweight; 18.6 to 25.0 as normal/healthy; 25.1 to 30 as overweight; and >30.0 as obese.