During 2025, the Global Obesity Observatory had several important updates and saw a continued increase in usage.

Key developments included:

• Comprehensive global data updates including obesity prevalence, obesity-related drivers and co-morbidities 
• National policy updates including evidence of government obesity strategy, taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages, and obesity treatment guidelines
• Presentation maps – key maps updated, and new maps added and made available for download
• Update on Under-5s data across the Observatory
• Tables linked directly to surveys
• Expansion of cross-national survey data categories and significant update across surveys

The maintenance of the Observatory database is a continuous task, and we are always looking to improve and update the data.

Throughout 2025, the data team added monthly data and policy updates from countries and territories spanning the globe. Obesity data are presented for general prevalence, and by age, sex, region, ethnicity, education and socio-economic status. Where possible, trend data graphics have also been updated, or created, so countries can continue to monitor their national progress.     

This year, we have updated existing, and created several new, presentation maps on the prevalence and drivers of obesity. These include maps showing the global prevalence of breastfeeding, consumption of a range of both unhealthy and healthy foods, and mental health disorders. For the first time, we have been able to add data on the consumption of ultra-processed salty foods thanks to the surveys conducted by the Global Diet Quality Project. You can browse and download the available maps at the link below.

OUR MAPS

Data on children aged 0-5 years was updated again this year using the newly released UNICEF-WHO-The World Bank: Joint Child Malnutrition Estimates (JME).

This data is available on the Observatory for general prevalence, triple burden of malnutrition (wasting, stunting and overweight), and by region, socio-economic status and parental educational status. You can view the data on the interactive map and each individual country page, but prevalence data is now also available as a table and as a presentation map. The table can be sorted by prevalence of overweight in boys, girls, and all children, as well as filtered by region and income group.

UNDER 5s TABLE

With new releases from the Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative (COSI), Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), Global School-based Health Surveys (GSHS), we have significantly updated the data available on the cross-national survey pages. On this page, users can compare data from the same survey across different countries and time periods, and create and download their own charts.

CREATE YOUR OWN CHART

For World Children’s Day this November, World Obesity co-hosted a webinar with UNICEF discussing the multiple, complex causes of childhood obesity globally as well as effective approaches for prevention and management. Speakers from a range of academic, policy, advocacy and lived experience backgrounds shared their expertise with an audience of almost 100 attendees.

The Alternate Minister of Health of the Hellenic Republic, Eirini Agapidaki, shared the progress made in Greece on addressing childhood obesity; Ogweno Stephen, Lived Experience Trustee at World Obesity, told his own story of growing up living with obesity; Professor Pekka Puska discussed the importance of systemic, preventative policies to address the obesogenic environment.

We also heard from Mauro Brero on UNICEF’s recent Child Nutrition Report – ‘Feeding Profit: How food environments are failing children’; Senzokuhle Dlamini, a Fix My Food youth advocate from UNICEF South Africa; Santi Gómez from the Gasol Foundation; and World Obesity Past-President Louise Baur.

WATCH HERE

2025 in review: MAPPS

The Management and Advocacy for Providers, Patients, and Systems (MAPPS) II project launched this year. This global research study review how well-equipped countries are for managing obesity in health systems. The in-depth knowledge and insight gained from this research will be able to be applied to inform policy reform and achieve global milestones – with the ultimate goal of improving access to obesity care for all.

This exciting research follows on from the first MAPPS study, which mainly focused on care and management of obesity across 68 countries. MAPPS II goes further than its predecessor and will engage actors across the system to understand the landscape of the entire system, including treatment, prevention and wider systemic and cultural factors.

Global Surveys

Three MAPPS II surveys were developed in partnership with the MAPPS II Global Working Group. In May, we launched the surveys to collect responses from key actors across the system:

• Health care professionals (available in English, Mandarin, Brazilian Portuguese and Spanish)
• Policy makers, researchers, advocacy groups and civil society (available in English, Mandarin, Brazilian Portuguese and Spanish)
• People with lived experience of obesity and their caregivers (available in English, Mandarin, Brazilian Portuguese, Spanish, French, Arabic, Hindi and isiZulu)

So far, we’ve heard from over 1,600 people globally, sharing their professional and personal experiences with obesity in their countries.

Want your country to have stronger representation in MAPPS? The surveys are still open so please share them in your networks using our toolkit. Our members still have the opportunity to gain early access to survey data by supporting dissemination in country. 

Deep Dives

MAPPS II is doing in depth research in six deep dive countries (Brazil, Spain, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, India and China). Beyond collecting survey data in these countries, we will be hosting a multi-sectoral round table to convene key actors in obesity prevention, treatment and management and identifying barriers, opportunities and solutions through interviews and focus groups.

In 2025, we established in-country working groups to help drive the work in country. These working groups have been vital to ensuring country relevance and buy in from key stakeholders.

In addition to the six deep dives, we are conducting further activities in the Pacific Islands. In partnership with our member organisation, one country has been selected to represent each region (Fiji, Tonga and Kiribati). In these countries, we are undertaking a targeted effort to increase survey responses, working closely with a focal point in each. In 2026-27, we will collect additional data and engage virtually with key stakeholders in each country. 

2025 Round Tables

We hosted two multi-sectoral roundtables in Spain and South Africa in November.

MAPPS II will continue with its important work in mapping the landscape of obesity globally. In 2026, alongside global data analysis, we will host four more in country round tables in Saudi Arabia, India, Brazil and China.

To get involved with MAPPS and stay up to date, follow the links below.