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25 Least Obese Countries in the World
Ramish Cheema
10 min read

In This Article:

In this piece, we will take a look at the 25 least obese countries in the world. For more countries, head on over to 5 Least Obese Countries in the World.

Depending on who you ask, you're likely to get different answers about the current state of human civilization and how we've evolved in just a couple of centuries. Key metrics such as poverty and hunger are on a downward trend - at least when we consider the last 'normal' point in history i.e. before the 2019 coronavirus pandemic.

In fact, data from the United Nations' World Food Program shows that as soon as in 2005, almost a billion people were hungry on the planet, but in just a decade this figure dropped to 770 million - indicating that humanity is making some progress on one of the most important of progress metrics. Yet, at the same time, diseases such as obesity are also on the rise, particularly in the developed world. While obesity has been studied and categorized for centuries, its growth is a relatively new phenomenon. Research published in the American Diabetes Association shows that before humans settled in societies and started growing their own food, their diet consisted primarily of hunted meat with low levels of fat and fruits and vegetables with high levels of fiber.

However, the growth in agriculture led to plumper animals and by the time of the Renaissance, obesity was considered a sign of being wealthy. Ironically, in the U.S. it was the prohibition of alcoholic beverages that led to the growth in consumption of carbonated beverages. The launch of automobiles and the emergence of fast food joints further increased the caloric intake of the average American. At the same time, the food industry, eager to influence the habits of children, spends up to $12 billion a year to make its high calorie products more attractive. Even more ironically, it was the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)'s efforts to improve industrial production by providing the working class with cheap calories such as fat and sugar that started a cycle that has now led to high levels of obesity in many countries. (You can check out 20 Most Obese Developed Countries in the World for obesity statistics in the developed world)

Naturally, this growth in obesity has created a market of its own that is worth billions of dollars. In fact, the hype surrounding obesity might be reaching a feverish pitch soon if we believe analysts from the investment bank Morgan Stanley. A research note issued by its analysts in July 2022 contends that obesity is the new hypertension. They compare the state of today's obesity market with that of the hypertension treatment industry from the 1980s to the 1990s, by the end of which it had turned into a $30 billion market. The value of obesity treatments can be even higher by 2030 as the analysts estimate that global obesity sales could sit at $54 billion by then. Backing their sales estimate by numbers, Morgan Stanley's analysts believe that in 2030 a quarter of obesity patients will consult with doctors, up from 7% in 2022. Out of these, more than half, or 55%, will be prescribed a treatment.

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