Higher GDP per capita linked to more overweight men globally
Comparing GDP per capita (current US$) with Share of men defined as overweight across 193 countries, 2024–2025.
- Rank correlation
- +0.64
- Holding size constant
- +0.51
- Countries compared
- 193
- Period
- 2024–2025
What might link these
Wealthier countries may have more access to high-calorie foods and sedentary lifestyles, but this could also reflect measurement differences or cultural reporting biases. The partial correlation remains strong after controls, suggesting GDP isn't the sole driver.
Why this is not proof of anything
This is a correlation across countries, not an experiment. It cannot show that either indicator causes the other, and both may simply follow a third thing. Correlation doesn't imply causation—other factors like diet, urbanization, or healthcare access might explain the link.
The second figure above repeats the measurement with national population and income held constant. It is the more conservative number: a relationship that largely disappears there was mostly telling you that larger, richer countries have more of most things.
How this was measured
Both indicators were ranked across every country reporting each, and the two rankings compared — ranks rather than raw values, because a handful of very large countries can otherwise manufacture a relationship on their own. The calculation is arithmetic over figures already published on this site; the commentary above is drafted from the two indicator names and the resulting coefficients.