This section assesses progress towards three additional WHA-endorsed targets, namely, adult obesity, exclusive breastfeeding among infants 0–5 months of age, and low birthweight.
Overweight and obesity are defined as above-normal body weight for height as a result of excessive fat accumulation. Body mass index (BMI) is a simple index of weight-for-height that is commonly used to classify overweight and obesity in adults. For adults, WHO defines obesity as a BMI greater than or equal to 30 kg/m2.
The latest data available, which are from 2016, show that the prevalence of adult obesity was 12.8 percent in Africa, similar to the global estimate of 13.1 percent. Over the 2000–2016 period, the 4.4 percentage points increase in the prevalence of overweight on the continent is similar to the observed global increase of 4.9 percentage points (FIGURE 18).
As in the case for the prevalence of child overweight, the prevalence of adult obesity in Southern Africa and Northern Africa (25.2 percent and 27.1 percent, respectively) was significantly higher than the prevalence in the other subregions (7.9 percent in Central Africa, 6.4 percent in Eastern Africa, and 8.9 percent in Western Africa). While the prevalence rose in all subregions between 2000 and 2016, it rose faster in Northern Africa and Southern Africa (8.2 percentage points and 8.4 percentage points, respectively) compared to the other subregions (3.2 percentage points in Eastern Africa, 4.1 percentage points in Central Africa, and 4.7 percentage points in Western Africa) (TABLE 11).
The high prevalence of adult obesity in Southern Africa is driven entirely by the very high prevalence of adult obesity in South Africa (28.3 percent). Similarly, large proportions of the adult population suffer from obesity in the Northern African countries of Libya (32.5 percent), Egypt (32 percent) and Algeria (27.4 percent). All countries of Northern Africa and Southern Africa had a prevalence of adult obesity exceeding 16 percent in 2016, whereas among all the countries in the other subregions, the prevalence ranged from 4.5 percent in Ethiopia to about 15 percent in Gabon and Zimbabwe. The prevalence of adult obesity worsened in all African countries between 2000 and 2016 (FIGURE 19).
| 2000 | 2005 | 2010 | 2012 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | |
| World | 8.7 | 9.9 | 11.2 | 11.8 | 12.5 | 12.8 | 13.1 |
| Africa | 7.9 | 9.3 | 10.8 | 11.5 | 12.1 | 12.4 | 12.8 |
| Central Africa | 3.8 | 4.9 | 6.1 | 6.7 | 7.3 | 7.6 | 7.9 |
| Eastern Africa | 3.2 | 4.0 | 4.9 | 5.3 | 5.8 | 6.1 | 6.4 |
| Northern Africa | 17.0 | 19.3 | 22.0 | 23.0 | 24.1 | 24.6 | 25.2 |
| Southern Africa | 18.7 | 21.3 | 24.0 | 25.0 | 26.0 | 26.6 | 27.1 |
| Western Africa | 4.2 | 5.3 | 6.8 | 7.4 | 8.1 | 8.5 | 8.9 |
