Sugar consumption and obesity worldwide in 123 countries
What it found
Countries where more sugar was available to eat tended to have higher rates of obesity and overweight.
The link was strongest in lower-income countries.
What they found
Studies in people
Sugar and obesity
Countries with more sugar available to eat had higher rates of overweight and obesity. In a model that accounted for other factors, sugar was still a significant predictor of obesity.
Sugar and blood pressure
Countries with more sugar available to eat also had higher rates of high blood pressure. But when other factors like overweight and physical inactivity were included, the link with sugar was no longer significant.
Cereals and disease
Countries where more cereals were available to eat had lower rates of overweight, obesity and high blood pressure. Cereal consumption remained a significant predictor of both obesity and high blood pressure in the models.
Physical inactivity
Countries with more physical inactivity had higher obesity rates. Physical inactivity was a significant predictor of obesity prevalence.
Gender differences
Women were more likely to be obese than men in almost all countries. The gap was greater in lower-income countries.
Other findings
Wealth and urbanization
Sugar and animal product consumption were directly associated with wealth and urbanization rates. Wealthier and more urbanized countries tended to consume more sugar.
What the authors conclude
“High sugar consumption and sedentary lifestyle are associated with increased obesity prevalence.”
Also in their conclusions
- They say high sugar consumption and sedentary lifestyle are associated with increased obesity prevalence.
- They suggest that effective strategies to reduce sugar consumption may have different effects in countries at different stages of the nutrition transition.
- They advise investing resources globally to limit sugar intake and maintain traditional diets rich in wholegrain products.
How it was done
The authors wanted to see whether food availability, lifestyle and wealth factors are linked to overweight, obesity and high blood pressure around the world.
They matched country-level estimates of overweight, obesity and high blood pressure with data on food and energy available for consumption, wealth, urbanization and physical inactivity. The overweight, obesity and hypertension databases covered 128, 123 and 79 countries.
What it can’t tell you
- This is an ecological study, so it cannot show that sugar causes obesity or high blood pressure in any one person.
- The food data show what was available to eat in each country, not what people actually ate.
- Other dietary and lifestyle factors not measured here could also contribute to obesity and high blood pressure.
Who paid
- Funding
- Funded by Medical Research Council (from the PubMed record).
- Authors work at
- Newcastle University, UK; UCL Institute of Child Health, UK
The paper
- Title
- Sugar consumption and global prevalence of obesity and hypertension: an ecological analysis
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Siervo M, Montagnese C, Mathers JC, Soroka KR, Stephan BC, Wells JC (2014). Sugar consumption and global prevalence of obesity and hypertension: an ecological analysis. Public health nutrition. doi:10.1017/S1368980013000141Free full textPubMed 23414749DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error