Summary High body-mass index (BMI) was responsible for 160 million (95% UI 106–219) DALYs and 5·02 million (3·22–7·11) deaths in 2019. It was the seventh-leading Level 2 risk factor for attributable DALYs in 2019.

Definition High BMI for adults (ages 20 and older) is defined as BMI greater than 20–25 kg/m2. High BMI for children (ages 1–19) is defined as being overweight or obese based on International Obesity Task Force standards.

Total sources
Exposure 2022
Relative risk 267
Table 1: Total sources used in GBD 2019 estimation
What is new in GBD 2019?
  • •The self-report bias adjustment was updated using MR-BRT, which resulted in similar BMI estimates to last year.
Deaths
YLLs
YLDs
DALYs
Number
(millions)
Rate (per
100 000)
Number
(millions)
Rate (per
100 000)
Number
(millions)
Rate (per
100 000)
Number
(millions)
Rate (per
100 000)
2019
Both Sexes
5·02 (3·22
to 7·11)
62·6 (39·9
to 89·1)
119 (79·6
to 164)
1440·1 (958·0
to 1979·5)
40·9 (24·5
to 60·9)
492·4 (294·9
to 733·3)
160 (106
to 219)
1932·5 (1276·6
to 2639·7)
Females
2·54 (1·68
to 3·56)
58·1 (38·5
to 81·4)
54·7 (37·6
to 74·3)
1260·6 (867·9
to 1711·4)
22·7 (13·9
to 33·5)
529·1 (323·3
to 777·8)
77·4 (53·2
to 105)
1789·7 (1228·7
to 2417·1)
Males
2·48 (1·52
to 3·57)
66·6 (39·8
to 97·2)
64·7 (41·1
to 90·3)
1618·4 (1027·2
to 2277·0)
18·1 (10·7
to 27·8)
451·9 (264·5
to 693·8)
82·8 (52·8
to 115)
2070·3 (1311·9
to 2888·8)
Percentage change 2010-19
Both Sexes
32·2% (25·1
to 40·6)
1·6% (–3·8
to 8·2)
29·0% (20·9
to 38·5)
2·6% (–3·9
to 10·5)
43·9% (38·7
to 51·2)
15·9% (11·7
to 21·9)
32·5% (25·1
to 41·3)
5·7% (–0·2
to 12·8)
Females
30·2% (23·5
to 38·7)
–0·3% (–5·6
to 6·4)
27·4% (19·2
to 37·7)
0·7% (–5·9
to 8·8)
40·6% (36·2
to 46·7)
13·3% (9·7
to 18·3)
31·0% (24·1
to 39·6)
4·1% (–1·5
to 11·1)
Males
34·2% (24·3
to 45·5)
3·9% (–3·7
to 12·8)
30·3% (19·8
to 42·4)
4·5% (–4·0
to 14·4)
48·2% (41·9
to 57·7)
19·5% (14·2
to 27·4)
33·9% (24·5
to 45·3)
7·4% (0·1
to 16·6)
Numbers in parentheses are 95% uncertainty intervals.
Table 2: Attributable global deaths, YLLs, YLDs, and DALYs in counts and age-standardised rates for both sexes combined, females, and males, 2019, with percentage change between 2010 and 2019
Deaths YLLs YLDs DALYs
1990 9th 10th 5th 10th
2010 7th 8th 5th 8th
2019 6th 7th 3rd 7th
Table 3: Rank among attributable Level 2 risks of global deaths, YLLs, YLDs, and DALYs in 1990, 2010, and 2019 for both sexes combined
Figure 1: Composition of attributable global DALYs by constituent Level 2 causes for both sexes combined, 2019
Figure 2: Composition of attributable global DALYs by YLLs and YLDs, age group, and sex, 2019
No Legend
Figure 3: Age-standardised all-cause SEV by location, both sexes combined, 2019
No Legend
Figure 4: Percentage change in all-cause age-standardised SEV by SDI, both sexes combined, 1990–2019
Figure 5: Percentage of population exposed to risk factor, both sexes combined, 2019
Figure 6: All-cause mortality relative risk, both sexes combined, 2019