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Average BMI in Saint Lucia

Men in Saint Lucia have an average BMI of 29.8, women 30.6. Both means fall in the WHO overweight band for men and obese for women. That puts Saint Lucia 4th of 186 countries in our data, ranked from highest BMI to lowest.

Key numbers

Men
29.8
Overweight
Women
30.6
Obese
SD, men / women
5.5 / 6.2
global SD
vs global mean
+5.3
women +5.8
Rank
4 of 186
1 = highest BMI
Est. obese
49% / 54%
men / women, BMI 30+

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Estimated share in each WHO category

Estimated from mean and SD with a normal curve, not surveyed shares
CategoryBMIMenWomen
Underweightunder 18.52%3%
Healthy weight18.5 to 2517%16%
Overweight25 to 3032%28%
Obese30 and over49%54%

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.

Saint Lucia among its neighbours

Ranking neighbours (three above and below) plus every Americas country in our data
#CountryMenWomenBothRegion
1Samoa30.634.332.5Oceania
2Tonga30.734.032.4Oceania
3Kiribati29.231.330.3Oceania
4Saint Lucia29.830.630.2Americas
5Kuwait29.230.729.9Asia
6Micronesia28.331.529.9Oceania
7Egypt27.931.729.8Africa
11Belize27.630.829.2Americas
13United States29.029.129.1Americas
17Puerto Rico28.528.728.6Americas
20Bahamas27.329.128.2Americas
22Chile28.028.328.1Americas
23Mexico27.628.628.1Americas
25Barbados26.529.427.9Americas
26Jamaica26.029.927.9Americas
27Argentina28.027.827.9Americas
30Trinidad and Tobago26.828.927.9Americas
32El Salvador27.028.527.8Americas
35Uruguay27.527.627.6Americas
37Costa Rica26.928.127.5Americas
38Ecuador26.828.127.5Americas
40Nicaragua26.728.127.4Americas
41Saint Vincent and the Grenadines26.428.427.4Americas
51Canada27.526.827.1Americas
52Grenada25.329.027.1Americas
55Panama26.327.827.1Americas
57Honduras26.027.926.9Americas
61Paraguay26.727.126.9Americas
66Peru26.427.326.9Americas
67Venezuela26.726.926.8Americas
68Brazil26.527.026.8Americas
76Suriname25.527.926.7Americas
77Bolivia25.427.926.6Americas
78Dominican Republic25.727.626.6Americas
79Guatemala25.827.526.6Americas
82Guyana25.228.026.6Americas
92Colombia26.026.826.4Americas
107Cuba25.426.225.8Americas
115Haiti26.624.325.5Americas

What a given BMI means in Saint Lucia

Share of adults with a lower BMI than each value, estimated from mean and SD
BMIWHO bandLower, menLower, women
20.0Healthy weight4%4%
22.5Healthy weight9%10%
25.0Overweight19%18%
27.5Overweight34%31%
30.0Obese51%46%
32.5Obese69%62%
35.0Obese83%76%

Read it as: a man with BMI 30 in Saint Lucia has a higher BMI than 51% of men. Values under 1% or over 99% are shown as <1 and >99.

In plain language

The standard deviation for men in Saint Lucia is 5.5. About two thirds of men have a BMI between 24.3 and 35.3; for women the middle two thirds run from 24.4 to 36.8. Compared with the global mean, men here are 5.3 points higher and women 5.8 points higher.

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 Saint Lucia?
29.8 for men and 30.6 for women, with standard deviations of 5.5 and 6.2. Averaged across the sexes that is 30.2, against a global figure of 24.6.
What share of adults in Saint Lucia are overweight or obese?
Our estimate from the mean and SD: 81% of men have a BMI of 25 or more, and 49% are at 30 or more. For women it is 82% and 54%. These assume a normal curve, so the true obesity shares are likely a few points higher.
Is a BMI of 25 high in Saint Lucia?
A BMI of 25 is the WHO line between healthy weight and overweight. In Saint Lucia it is higher than about 19% of men and 18% of women. So for men here it is below the middle of the pack.
How does Saint Lucia compare with Kiribati?
Men in Kiribati average 29.2 against 29.8 in Saint Lucia; women 31.3 against 30.6. Kiribati ranks 3rd, Saint Lucia 4th.

NCD-RisC does not publish standard deviations. SD for countries added in 2026-10 uses the global SD. Saint Lucia is one of them, so the SD, the category shares and the percentiles above use the global spread rather than one measured here.

Source: NCD Risk Factor Collaboration, Lancet 2017, age-standardised mean BMI for 2016. Percentiles on this page are our estimate from a normal distribution with the stated mean and SD.

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Also by country: Average height by country and Life expectancy by country.