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Energy in, energy out

Overweight and obesity result from an imbalance between the energy we take in (diet) and the energy we use (physical activity). Here is what the data says about both sides of that balance.

More food available

World food supply: calories per person per day, 1961–2023

What this meansThe average food available per person rose from 2,184 to 3,006 calories a day. This measures food available, which is not the same as what people actually eat.

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,500197019801990200020102020World 3,006 kcal

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) via Our World in Data.

Moving less

Adults not getting enough physical activity, world, 2000–2022

What this means31.3% of adults worldwide did not meet WHO’s activity recommendation in 2022, compared with 23.4% in 2000.

0%10%20%30%40%20002005201020152020World 31.3%

Among school-going teens aged 11–17, 81.0% were not active enough (2016). Age-standardized adult estimates.

Source: WHO Global Health Observatory.

Least active countries (2022)

What this meansUnited Arab Emirates has the highest share of adults not active enough: 66.1%.

  1. 1. United Arab Emirates66.1%
  2. 2. Kuwait63.3%
  3. 3. Cuba61.1%
  4. 4. Lebanon58.6%
  5. 5. South Korea58.1%
  6. 6. Panama57.6%
  7. 7. Qatar53.5%
  8. 8. Iraq52.0%
  9. 9. Portugal51.7%
  10. 10. Saudi Arabia51.5%
  11. 11. Costa Rica49.7%
  12. 12. India49.4%

Source: WHO Global Health Observatory.

Data detective: spot the problem 🕵️

Not every dataset tells the truth about people. This one is a great lesson in why.

This dataset from the UCI Machine Learning Repository has 2,111 records about eating and activity habits in Mexico, Peru and Colombia. But 77% of the records were generated by a computer to balance the groups for machine-learning practice. So it cannot tell us how common anything is in real life.

Habits recorded in the dataset, by weight group

What this meansLook at snacking: in this dataset, the obesity group reports snacking often far less (1.6%) than the healthy-weight group (41.1%). Strange patterns like this are a warning sign that data is artificial — not a real finding about people.

Often eat high-calorie food

  1. Underweight81.2%
  2. Healthy weight72.5%
  3. Overweight83.4%
  4. Obesity98.0%

Exercise 2 or more days a week

  1. Underweight47.1%
  2. Healthy weight38.3%
  3. Overweight25.5%
  4. Obesity23.6%

Do no regular exercise

  1. Underweight26.5%
  2. Healthy weight27.9%
  3. Overweight31.2%
  4. Obesity39.8%

Snack between meals frequently or always

  1. Underweight45.2%
  2. Healthy weight41.1%
  3. Overweight6.6%
  4. Obesity1.6%
Show the numbers as a table
HabitUnderweightHealthy weightOverweightObesity
Often eat high-calorie food81.2%72.5%83.4%98.0%
Exercise 2 or more days a week47.1%38.3%25.5%23.6%
Do no regular exercise26.5%27.9%31.2%39.8%
Snack between meals frequently or always45.2%41.1%6.6%1.6%
Usually walk or cycle to get around2.2%12.5%2.9%0.4%
Have a family member with overweight46.3%54.0%82.9%99.2%
Usually eat vegetables with meals59.9%39.7%30.9%55.6%

77% of records were generated synthetically and weight classes were balanced; not a population sample.

Source: Mendoza Palechor & De la Hoz Manotas (2019), UCI Machine Learning Repository, CC BY 4.0.

Energy balance

Overweight and obesity result from an imbalance between the energy we take in (diet) and the energy we use (physical activity).
Source: World Health Organization, Obesity and overweight (fact sheet) (8 December 2025)

Double burden

Undernutrition and obesity often exist side by side — in the same country, the same community and even the same household.
Source: World Health Organization, Obesity and overweight (fact sheet) (8 December 2025)

Want to see this for one country? Every country page shows its calorie supply and physical-activity data.

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