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Global burden of noncommunicable disease attributable to high body mass index in 195 countries and territories, 1990–2017

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Abstract

Purpose

The increasing burden of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) attributable to high body mass index (BMI) represents both a threat and an opportunity for intervention. Estimates of the global latest trend of high BMI-related NCDs and its association with socioeconomic status can facilitate strategic intervention and inform further research.

Methods

This global burden of disease study extracted global, regional, and national data on death and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) attributable to high BMI-related NCDs from the GBD Study 2017. Secondary analyses were performed by year, age, sex, and specific causes of death and DALYs. The 2017 Socio-demographic Index (SDI) was used as an indicator of national socioeconomic status. The association between age-standardized death or DALYs rate and socioeconomic status were analyzed.

Results

Worldwide, 4.7 million deaths and 147.7 million DALYs of NCDs were related to high BMI in 2017, with a projection to 5.5 million deaths and 176.9 million DALYs in 2025. Globally, high BMI-related burden showed an increasing trend with males being more heavily impacted overall. The trend and magnitude of high BMI-related disease burden varied substantially in different geographical and socioeconomic regions. Specifically, the low-middle, middle, and high-middle SDI countries were associated with a higher burden. The leading three causes of DALYs attributable to high BMI in 2017 were ischemic heart diseases, stroke, and diabetes mellitus.

Conclusions

High BMI-related burden of NCDs is worsening, particularly in developing countries. Our findings may enhance public awareness of interventions to reduce the diseases burden caused by high BMI.

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Acknowledgements

The estimates used in this manuscript based on the GBD data and methodologies. We appreciate the visionary global health leadership of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) in Seattle, Washington, and the contribution of all anonymous collaborators, without whom this report would not be possible.

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  1. These authors contributed equally: Xiling Lin, Yufeng Xu, Jingya Xu

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, the Second Affiliated Hospital of ZheJiang University School of Medicine, 88 Jiefang Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310009, China

    Xiling Lin, Jingya Xu, Xiaowen Pan, Xiaoxiao Song, Lizhen Shan, Yiming Zhao & Peng-Fei Shan

  2. Department of Ophthalmology, the Second Affiliated Hospital of ZheJiang University School of Medicine, 88 Jiefang Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310009, China

    Yufeng Xu

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  1. Xiling Lin
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Correspondence to Peng-Fei Shan.

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Conflict of interest

P.F.S. received grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81670744, 81870564), Science Technology Department of Zhejiang Province of China (No. 2017C33037), and Y.F.X. received grants from China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2019M652107). The authors declare that there is no other potential conflict of interests.

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Lin, X., Xu, Y., Xu, J. et al. Global burden of noncommunicable disease attributable to high body mass index in 195 countries and territories, 1990–2017. Endocrine 69, 310–320 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12020-020-02352-y

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