Overweight in children — all countries

Overweight in children — Panama

Overweight in children in Panama in 2019 — 11.5%. Ranked 43 in the world out of 46. Since 1997, the indicator has risen by 5.1 pp.

2019 11.5% +1.8 pp vs 2008
World rank 43of 46
Period maximum 11.5%2019
Period minimum 6.4%1997

Trend over time

1997–2019 · % of children under 5

Overweight in children — Panama, 1997–2019681012199720002003200620092012201520181997: 6.4%2003: 11.1%2008: 9.7%2019: 11.5%
Change over the period: +5.1 pp Annual average: 0.23 pp
Overweight in children — Panama, by year Panama All countries CSV XLSX
Year % Change, pp
2019 11.5
2008 9.7
2003 11.1
1997 6.4

Central America, 2019

The same indicator for neighboring countries — with links to their pages

About the indicator

The share of children under five whose weight exceeds the WHO norm for their height by more than two standard deviations. The indicator matters in that it grows at the same time as stunting in the very same countries: a diet of cheap calories produces both the one and the other, and this is the core of the notion of the double burden of malnutrition. Overweight in children used to be considered a problem of rich countries — now it is growing fastest in middle-income countries.

Important: The data come from sample surveys, the years are intermittent. The aggregate by group is weighted by the number of children aged 0–14.

Source: Global Health Observatory (WHO), license CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO.