🇫🇷Average BMI in France

Key numbers

Estimated share in each WHO category

Columns may not sum to 100 because of rounding. Real BMI distributions have a longer right tail than a normal curve, so the obese share here is probably a few points low.

France among its neighbours

What a given BMI means in France

Read it as: a man with BMI 30 in France has a higher BMI than 80% of men. Values under 1% or over 99% are shown as <1 and >99.

In plain language

The standard deviation for men in France is 4.7. About two thirds of men have a BMI between 21.4 and 30.8; for women the middle two thirds run from 18.8 to 29.8. Compared with the global mean, men here are 1.6 points higher and women 0.5 points lower.

BMI does not distinguish muscle from fat, and the WHO bands were set on European populations. For South and East Asian populations the same BMI carries more health risk, which is why several countries there use 23 and 27.5 as their own cut-offs.

Questions

What is the average BMI in France?

26.1 for men and 24.3 for women, with standard deviations of 4.7 and 5.5. Averaged across the sexes that is 25.2, against a global figure of 24.6.

What share of adults in France are overweight or obese?

Our estimate from the mean and SD: 59% of men have a BMI of 25 or more, and 20% are at 30 or more. For women it is 45% and 15%. These assume a normal curve, so the true obesity shares are likely a few points higher.

Is a BMI of 25 high in France?

A BMI of 25 is the WHO line between healthy weight and overweight. In France it is higher than about 41% of men and 55% of women. So for men here it is below the middle of the pack.

How does France compare with Switzerland?

Men in Switzerland average 26.8 against 26.1 in France; women 23.8 against 24.3. Switzerland ranks 118th, France 119th.