Palau which previously ranked third in the world’s most obese countries now ranks fifth in the world’s most obese countries list, according to data from the World Population Review.
This, however, is not due to the decrease in obesity rate of Palau. Earlier Palau ranked 3rd with obesity rate of 55.3%. The data has not shown a decline in the obesity rate of Palau but it has put American Samoa on the top of most obese countries in the world with obesity rate being 74.60%.
The country that ranked number one earlier in terms of obesity was Nauru with 61%. It holds third position on the list with 61% as constant.
After American Samoa, the second most obese country in the world is Tokelau with 74.40 as obesity rate and the fourth most obese country is Cook Islands with 55.90% as obesity rate.
A person is obese when their Body Mass Index is higher than 30. The BMI measures a person’s weight in relation to their height, giving them a score. A normal BMI is 18.5 to 24.9.
WPR claims that number of obese people in the world total is approximately 2.1 billion, which makes up about 30% of the total population. This number continues to rise. Over 3 million people each year die from obesity.
Obesity is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as “abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a risk to health.
The measurement of obesity is determined through calculation of the Body Mass Index (BMI), a person’s weight (kilograms) divided by the square of his or her height (meters). One is considered obese if the BMI reaches 30 or more.
According to WHO, obesity is major risk factor for a number of chronic diseases, including diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer. (By Eshan Kalyanikar)