Chapter 3 Additional World Health Assembly Nutrition Indicators
Key messages
- In Latin America and the Caribbean, obesity affected almost a quarter of the adult population
(24.2 percent) in 2016, the last measure available for this World Health Assembly nutrition
indicator, well above the world average of 13.1 percent. Obesity in adults significantly
increased across the region between 2000 and 2016 – by 9.5 percentage points in the Caribbean,
8.2 percentage points in Mesoamerica, and 7.2 percentage points in South America. Adult obesity
is more prevalent among women than men in all countries in the region, and in 20 countries it is
at least 10 percentage points higher for women than for men.
- In 2020, the rate of exclusive breastfeeding for six months in Latin America and the Caribbean
was 37.3 percent below the world average (43.8 percent). The rate has decreased in the
Caribbean, and although Mesoamerica has made significant progress improving the rate of
exclusive breastfeeding for six months, it is still below the SDG target.
- In Latin America and the Caribbean, the prevalence of low birthweight was 8.7 percent in 2015.
And though it has not varied much since 2000, the prevalence is still well below the world
average.
