Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37779155›Full record

ReviewCurrent obesity reports2023

Update on the Obesity Epidemic: After the Sudden Rise, Is the Upward Trajectory Beginning to Flatten?

Chrysi Koliaki, Maria Dalamaga, Stavros Liatis

Erratum issuedOpen access · hybridAbstract readReview
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Current obesity reports, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 236 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
236citing papers in PubMed, 7 pooled it
97.1field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

236 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 336 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Life Course Trajectories of Body Mass Index and Risk of Cancer in Adulthood: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2026
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  15. Wealth and weight revisited: A Bayesian model averaging approach to the Obesity Kuznets Curve.The European journal of health economics : HEPAC : health economics in prevention and care · 2026
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  18. Oral Incretin-Based Therapies for Weight Management.Current atherosclerosis reports · 2026
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176 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Chrysi KoliakiFirst Propaedeutic Department of Internal Medicine and Diabetes Center, Laiko General Hospital, Medical School, National Kapodistrian University of Athens, Agiou Thoma 17 Street, 11527, Athens, Greece. ckoliaki@yahoo.com.
Maria DalamagaDepartment of Biologic Chemistry, Medical School, National Kapodistrian University of Athens, Mikras Asias 75 Street, 11527, Athens, Greece.
Stavros LiatisFirst Propaedeutic Department of Internal Medicine and Diabetes Center, Laiko General Hospital, Medical School, National Kapodistrian University of Athens, Agiou Thoma 17 Street, 11527, Athens, Greece.
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens · GRLaiko General Hospital of Athens · GR

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purpose of reviewTo provide an update on current obesity prevalence trends and summarize the available evidence suggesting a possible plateau or stabilization in obesity rates after the previous sudden global rise. RECENT

findingsThe escalating global obesity epidemic represents one of the most serious public health challenges. There have been some indications that in high-income populations, the rate of obesity increase in adults has been stabilized after the decade 2000-2010, suggesting a possible plateau. Current evidence also suggests that obesity rates have been stabilized in children and adolescents of most economically advanced countries since 2000, which is possibly related to healthier dietary habits and increased levels of physical activity. On the other hand, there is a steady uninterrupted rise in low-income nations, and the universal trend is obesity escalation rather than slowdown, mainly driven by sharp increases in the obesity prevalence of low-income populations. Furthermore, an increasing number of high- and middle-income countries are currently experiencing an epidemic of severe obesity. In high-income populations, severe obesity is expected to double its prevalence from 10 to 20% between 2020 and 2035, posing an enormous threat for healthcare systems. Even if transiently stabilized, the obesity prevalence remains globally at unacceptably high levels, and there is no guarantee that the current stability (if any) will be maintained for long. In this review, we explore the underlying drivers of the global obesity epidemic; we provide possible explanations for the reported slowdown of the obesity rates in some countries; and we overall take a critical perspective on the obesity plateau hypothesis, emphasizing the urgent need for immediate effective actions at population and regional level in order to halt the alarming obesity escalation and its serious health risks.

Indexed as

Obesity, MorbidAdolescentAdultChildDietHumansObesityOverweightPrevalenceSocioeconomic FactorsAdiposityBody mass indexEpidemiologyObesityOverweightPlateauPrevalenceStabilizationTrend

Identifiers

PMID37779155
OpenAlexW4387229859

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.