Weight of the World

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Weight of the World: Globally, Adults Are 16.5 Million Tons Overweight

Researchers say that rising rates of overweight and obesity — especially in the U.S. — will threaten the world's food security and environmental resources.

By ALEXANDRA SIFFERLIN | @acsifferlin | June 18, 2012 | 19

Collectively, the entire adult population of the world weighs about 316 million tons, or 633 billion pounds. About 16.5 million tons of that weight is due to overweight, according to data from the United Nations and World Health Organization. That’s as much as 242 million extra people of normal weight — or roughly the entire population of Indonesia.

Most of the world’s excess weight can be found in the U.S. The average weight of an adult anywhere in the world is about 137 lbs., but the average weight of an adult in the U.S. is 178 lbss, according to the new study by researchers at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM). Also, consider this: while North America has only 6% of the world’s population, it accounts for 34% of the world’s weight due to obesity. In contrast, Asia has 61% of the world’s population, but 13% of its weight due to obesity./.../