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

United Kingdom: Share of men defined as underweight, healthy, overweight and obese was 0.6% in 2014. ▼ Falling

Latest (2014)
0.6%
Change on year
down 14.3%
World rank
148th
of 198 countries
All-time high
2.2%
in 1975
All-time low
0.6%
in 2014
Years of data
40
1975–2014

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

0.511.521975199420141975: 2.2 %1976: 2.1 %1977: 2 %1978: 1.9 %1979: 1.9 %1980: 1.8 %1981: 1.7 %1982: 1.7 %1983: 1.6 %1984: 1.6 %1985: 1.5 %1986: 1.5 %1987: 1.4 %1988: 1.4 %1989: 1.3 %1990: 1.3 %1991: 1.3 %1992: 1.2 %1993: 1.2 %1994: 1.2 %1995: 1.2 %1996: 1.1 %1997: 1.1 %1998: 1.1 %1999: 1 %2000: 1 %2001: 1 %2002: 1 %2003: 0.9 %2004: 0.9 %2005: 0.9 %2006: 0.8 %2007: 0.8 %2008: 0.8 %2009: 0.8 %2010: 0.7 %2011: 0.7 %2012: 0.7 %2013: 0.7 %2014: 0.6 %

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

Analysis

In 2014, share of men defined as underweight, healthy, overweight and obese in United Kingdom stood at 0.6%. That is the lowest value across all 40 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 14.3% on the previous year and down 33.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of men defined as underweight, healthy, overweight and obese in United Kingdom peaked at 2.2% in 1975 and was at its lowest, 0.6%, in 2014.

That places United Kingdom 148th out of 198 countries with data for 2014, putting it 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 United Kingdom, year by year

Annual values for Share of men defined as underweight, healthy, overweight and obese in United Kingdom, 1975 to 2014.
Year % Change
1975 2.2%
1976 2.1% -4.5%
1977 2.0% -4.8%
1978 1.9% -5.0%
1979 1.9% +0.0%
1980 1.8% -5.3%
1981 1.7% -5.6%
1982 1.7% +0.0%
1983 1.6% -5.9%
1984 1.6% +0.0%
1985 1.5% -6.3%
1986 1.5% +0.0%
1987 1.4% -6.7%
1988 1.4% +0.0%
1989 1.3% -7.1%
1990 1.3% +0.0%
1991 1.3% +0.0%
1992 1.2% -7.7%
1993 1.2% +0.0%
1994 1.2% +0.0%
1995 1.2% +0.0%
1996 1.1% -8.3%
1997 1.1% +0.0%
1998 1.1% +0.0%
1999 1.0% -9.1%
2000 1.0% +0.0%
2001 1.0% +0.0%
2002 1.0% +0.0%
2003 0.9% -10.0%
2004 0.9% +0.0%
2005 0.9% +0.0%
2006 0.8% -11.1%
2007 0.8% +0.0%
2008 0.8% +0.0%
2009 0.8% +0.0%
2010 0.7% -12.5%
2011 0.7% +0.0%
2012 0.7% +0.0%
2013 0.7% +0.0%
2014 0.6% -14.3%

United Kingdom compared with similar countries

  • United Kingdom's 0.6% is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.6%, 1.0× the median. (67 countries reporting)
  • United Kingdom's 0.6% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 0.6%, 1.0× the median. (50 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 2.0% 1.9% 2.2% 5
1980s 1.6% 1.3% 1.8% 10
1990s 1.2% 1.0% 1.3% 10
2000s 0.9% 0.8% 1.0% 10
2010s 0.7% 0.6% 0.7% 5

Countries ranked near United Kingdom

  1. 148 Albania 0.6% compare
  2. 148 Austria 0.6% compare
  3. 148 Croatia 0.6% compare
  4. 148 Estonia 0.6% compare
  5. 148 Greenland 0.6% compare
  6. 148 Micronesia (country) 0.6% compare
  7. 148 Norway 0.6% compare
  8. 148 Portugal 0.6% compare
  9. 148 United States 0.6% compare

See the full ranking of 198 places →

More reference data data for United Kingdom

All data for United Kingdom →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of men defined as underweight, healthy, overweight and obese in United Kingdom?
Share of men defined as underweight, healthy, overweight and obese in United Kingdom was 0.6% 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 United Kingdom?
The highest recorded value was 2.2% in 1975.
What is the lowest share of men defined as underweight, healthy, overweight and obese recorded in United Kingdom?
The lowest recorded value was 0.6% in 2014.
How does United Kingdom rank for share of men defined as underweight, healthy, overweight and obese?
United Kingdom ranks 148th out of 198 countries with data for 2014.
Is share of men defined as underweight, healthy, overweight and obese rising or falling in United Kingdom?
Over the last ten years it is down 33.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this United Kingdom 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.

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Share of men defined as underweight, healthy, overweight and obese in United Kingdom. Statizoid, drawing on NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (2017) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 23 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/men-weight-categories/united-kingdom/

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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.