[Comparison of the trends and current status of obesity between Japan and other developed countries].

We compared the obesity status in Japan with those in other developed countries, such as the US, WHO European region, Australia, and Canada. In Japan, the proportion of overweight individuals showed a continuously increasing trend in men (from 15.2% to 29.7% in 30 years), but stayed at the same level (around 20%) in women. In contrast, a drastic increase in the number of obese individuals was observed in the US, and an increasing trend was also observed in the European countries. These data show that among the developed countries, Japan has the lowest level of obesity. Despite this, an increasing trend has still been observed in men. Careful attention needs to be given to the prevention of obesity epidemics.