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Table 2 Estimates of the proportion of overweight children under 5 years of age, by region

From: The epidemiological burden of obesity in childhood: a worldwide epidemic requiring urgent action

Region

Estimated overweight proportion in 1990 (%) (uncertainty interval)

Estimated overweight proportion (%) in 2018 (uncertainty interval)

Africa

5.2 (4.2–6.2)

4.9 (3.6–6.1)

Northern Africa

7.0 (4.2–11.4)

10.6 (4.8–21.8)

Middle Africa

4.1 (2.2–7.5)

4.6 (3.4–6.3)

Southern Africa

9.1 (6.4–12.9)

13.0 (9.3–17.9)

Eastern Africa

5.0 (3.7–6.7)

4.3 (3.5–5.3)

Western Africa

3.9 (2.8–5.5)

2.1 (1.6–2.6)

Asia

4.0 (3.0–5.0)

5.2 (3.9–6.5)

Eastern Asia

6.4 (5.8–7.0)

6.3 (5.5–7.2)

Western Asia

5.7 (3.0–10.5)

9.0 (3.5–21.1)

Southern Asia

2.3 (0.8–6.1)

3.1 (1.9–5.1)

South-eastern Asia

1.9 (1.5–2.4)

7.7 (4.0–14.2)

Oceania (excluding Australia and New Zealand)

3.2 (2.4–4.2)

9.1 (5.9–13.8)

Latin America and the Caribbean

6.2 (4.7–7.7)

7.5 (6.6–8.4)

Caribbean

4.2 (4.0–4.5)

7.0 (3.7–12.8)

Central America

5.3 (3.7–7.6)

6.9 (6.0–8.1)

South America

6.8 (4.9–9.3)

7.8 (6.7–9.1)

  1. Estimates were published jointly by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the World Health Organization and the World Bank (see Table 1)
  2. Bold shows regional aggregates