Obesity in Uzbekistan: the numbers, the causes and where to find help

How common is obesity in Uzbekistan?

Nearly one in three adults in Uzbekistan lives with obesity: 31.2% in the latest WHO estimates. That is about 7.8 million people aged 18 and over and ranks Uzbekistan 53rd of 196 countries.

Women are more often affected than men. The WHO figures show 33.7% of women and 28.3% of men with a BMI of 30 or more, a gap of more than five percentage points.

The picture for young people is strikingly different. Only 3.1% of Uzbeks aged 5 to 19 live with obesity, 3.8% of boys and 2.4% of girls. That is less than half the world average for this age group, and one of the widest gaps between adults and children anywhere.

What the national survey shows

Uzbekistan’s Committee on Sanitary-Epidemiological Welfare and Public Health, working with WHO, measured adults aged 18 to 64 in a national risk factor survey. Half of them had overweight or obesity, and about 20% had obesity.

The same survey found that 46% had raised blood cholesterol and that the average adult ate 14.9 grams of salt a day. That is about three times the WHO advice of no more than 5 grams.

The survey covers a younger and narrower age range than the WHO estimates and does not use the same age adjustment, which explains part of the difference with the 31.2% figure. Both point the same way: excess weight is now the norm rather than the exception among Uzbek adults.

How obesity in Uzbekistan has changed since 1990

Adult obesity has risen faster in Uzbekistan than in most countries. In 1990, 8.8% of adults lived with obesity; today it is 31.2%, an increase of more than 22 percentage points.

The line has not flattened. Between the last two WHO data points the rate went up by another 3.5 points, which shows the rise is still in full swing.

Men went from 7.0% to 28.3%, four times higher. Women rose from 10.4% to 33.7%. Young people also saw a rise, from 1.5% in 1990 to 3.1% today, but from a much lower base.

The contrast with children is the most hopeful part of the trend. Because so few Uzbek children and teens live with obesity, it seems that most weight is gained between school and middle age, and that is also when habits around food, work and movement can still be shaped.

That pattern fits what NCD-RisC reports for most low and middle-income countries: the yearly increase in adult obesity is staying the same or growing, unlike the slowdown seen in many richer countries.

Why is obesity rising in Uzbekistan?

Obesity in Uzbekistan is rising as diets high in salt, fatty foods and meat meet daily lives with less physical work, in villages as well as cities. Our page on the causes of obesity explains the wider mechanisms.

A diet heavy in salt and meat

Uzbekistan has a rich food culture, and nothing on this page is a judgement of it. What the data show is a balance problem, such as too much salt and meat, rather than any single traditional dish.

The national survey’s salt figure, 14.9 grams a day, shows how far everyday eating is from health advice. The SanEpid Committee warned that excess salt, sugar, fatty foods and sweets, together with too little vitamins and minerals, drive chronic disease.

A Global Burden of Disease analysis of 34 Asian countries found that in Central Asia, including Uzbekistan, diets high in red and processed meat were the leading dietary contributor to the burden of type 2 diabetes. An earlier national health examination survey in Uzbekistan also linked eating more animal-source protein with obesity.

Less physical work, also in villages

Obesity is often seen as a problem of big cities, but that is only part of the story. A Nature study by NCD-RisC of more than 112 million adults showed that in most low and middle-income regions, BMI is rising as fast or faster in rural areas than in cities.

More than 55% of the global rise in average BMI came from rural populations, and in some regions over 80%. The authors call for better access to healthy food in rural areas, which matters for a country like Uzbekistan where many people live outside the big cities.

Why are women in Uzbekistan more affected?

Across developing countries, more women than men live with obesity. A review in Advances in Nutrition found that the move away from physical work has cut activity levels among women even more than among men, and that social and cultural factors shape who gains weight.

Uzbekistan fits this pattern, with women more than five points ahead of men. Weight gained around pregnancy can also add up over the years; our page on obesity and pregnancy explains what helps.

Health impact of obesity in Uzbekistan

Obesity in Uzbekistan feeds directly into the country’s biggest killer, heart disease. Noncommunicable diseases cause about 79% of all deaths, and cardiovascular disease is the main cause of premature death.

According to WHO’s country office, about a third of Uzbek adults have high blood pressure and a fifth are at high risk of a heart attack or stroke. An earlier national survey found that adults with obesity were about three times as likely to have high blood pressure as those with a healthy BMI.

A study in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health looked at three decades of data. For every one-point rise in adult obesity, new cases of ischaemic heart disease rose by about 40 per 100,000 men and 38 per 100,000 women.

Raised cholesterol adds to the risk. In the national SanEpid survey, 46% of adults had high blood cholesterol, so many people carry excess weight, high blood pressure and high blood fats at the same time. Each one makes the others more harmful for the heart and blood vessels.

The good news is that the same steps help all three. Less salt, more vegetables and fruit, smaller portions of fatty meat and a daily walk lower blood pressure and cholesterol even before the scale moves much.

Waist size and diabetes

Type 2 diabetes does not only affect people with a BMI of 30 or more. In a study of newly diagnosed patients at an endocrinology centre in Samarkand, most did not have obesity by BMI, yet their waist size was linked to higher blood sugar while BMI was not.

That makes the waist a useful extra check. You can measure yours with our waist calculator, and read more about the health risks of obesity.

What Uzbekistan is doing about obesity

Uzbekistan has made healthy diets part of national policy through a presidential resolution on nutrition, supported by WHO and UNICEF. It covers food labelling and trans fat limits, and alongside it the country is working on school nutrition rules and short counselling in primary care.

A national nutrition policy

The presidential resolution on healthy nutrition introduced colour labelling for ready-to-eat foods, first on a voluntary basis and later as a legal requirement. It also set out the gradual elimination of industrial trans fats through new sanitary norms.

The same package made fortification of flour with micronutrients compulsory and provides vitamins and micronutrients free of charge to children and to women to support healthy pregnancy. That reflects a country still dealing with micronutrient shortages while weight rises.

Healthier food in schools

National stakeholders and WHO chose school nutrition policies as a main route to preventing noncommunicable diseases. The aim is to provide healthy food and drinks in schools and restrict unhealthy ones.

A study in Global Health: Science and Practice found that putting these rules into practice has been hampered by weak accountability in food contracts and tenders, and by poor coordination between sectors. The low obesity rate among Uzbek children gives these school policies a real chance to protect the next generation.

Short conversations in primary care

Uzbekistan also trains primary care clinicians to hold brief interventions: a few standard questions and a short, structured conversation about unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, smoking and alcohol, with a referral if more help is needed.

The programme was designed with several ministries and has political support. Its challenges are a shortage of staff, few incentives for clinicians and outdated data systems.

Where can you get help with obesity in Uzbekistan?

The usual first step is your local primary health care clinic, where you can have your weight, waist and blood pressure checked and ask for blood tests for sugar and cholesterol. Ask specifically for advice on food and physical activity; primary care clinicians are being trained to give it.

If your doctor finds diabetes, high blood pressure or another complication, they can refer you to a specialist. Specialised endocrinology centres, such as the one in Samarkand mentioned above, care for people with diabetes and metabolic diseases.

We have not found a national patient organisation for obesity in Uzbekistan. That makes it even more useful to prepare well for your appointment; our doctor visit checklist lists the questions worth asking. You can also book a free video meeting (in English) with us.

Uzbekistan, Central Asia and the world average

With 31.2% of adults living with obesity, Uzbekistan is almost twice the world average of 16.2%. In Central Asia it stands out: Tajikistan (23.1%), Turkmenistan (22.2%), Kyrgyzstan (22.0%) and Kazakhstan (21.1%) all have markedly lower rates, as does Russia at 17.6%.

In 1990 Uzbekistan was only a little above the world average, at 8.8% against 6.7%. Since then its rate has risen by more than twice as many percentage points as the world’s: 22.4 against 9.5.

For children and teens the comparison runs the other way: 3.1% in Uzbekistan against a world average of 8.2%. Compare more countries on our obesity by country page, or read what is obesity for the basics.

Free support to lose weight in Uzbekistan

Obesity Foundation supports people in Uzbekistan who want to lose weight with good food, suitable exercise and walking. It is free, it works with the foods you already cook, and nobody will judge you.

See your doctor first before changing your diet or activity, especially if you have high blood pressure or diabetes. Then try one of these:

• Keep your favourite dishes, change the balance: the principles of our free eating plan work with home cooking too: serve plov or soup with more vegetables, a little less oil and a smaller piece of bread.
• Go easy on salt: taste before you add salt, and choose bread and pickles with less of it.
• Walk every day: our walking plan starts with ten minutes, for example after the evening meal.
• Gentle movement at home: low impact cardio protects your knees.
• Measure and plan: our calculators help you choose a realistic goal.
• Find support: book a free video meeting (in English) or join the Obesity Foundation Club.