France reached a milestone this Thursday, May 28 by becoming the first country in the European Union to reimburse drugs against obesity, Wegovy and Mounjaro, two injectable treatments with results considered very effective. A decision which highlights a health reality that figures have been describing for years: in France, obesity is increasing. It affects more and more people, earlier and earlier, and harder and harder.
Nearly one in two French people affected
The most recent data indeed paints a worrying picture. According to the latest figures from the Obesity Epidemiology Observatory, 48.8% of French adults suffer from a weight problem. They are 30% overweight (body mass index or BMI between 25 and 29.9). And even 18% reach the obesity threshold (BMI greater than 30), which represents around 10 million people.
If the proportion of overweight French people has remained approximately stable (at 30% since 1997), that of obesity continues to grow, recalls an Inserm study. The figure has more than doubled in twenty-five years: in 1997, barely 8.5% of adults were affected. What alarms researchers the most is the progression of the most severe forms. Morbid obesity, where the body mass index exceeds 40, has increased sevenfold since 1997.
Young people, the first victims of this increase
Older adults remain more affected in absolute terms: excess weight concerns 57.3% of those aged 65 and over, compared to 23.2% of those aged 18-24. But it is among the younger generations that the progression is the fastest.
Since 1997, obesity has increased fourfold among 18-24 year olds, and threefold among 25-34 year olds. Obesity is therefore no longer just a disease linked to aging: it sets in earlier and earlier, with consequences that will last a lifetime.
Marked social inequalities
Obesity affects social categories unequally. Thus, 18% of workers are affected, compared to less than 10% of managers, according to an Inserm study published in 2020. Employees and intermediate professions are between the two, with 17.8% and 14.4% respectively.
Disease strikes where resources are lacking and this trend has increased in recent years. People with higher education and those practicing regular physical activity are significantly less affected.
Geographically, the differences are just as striking. The prevalence of obesity exceeds 20% in the North and the North-East while it remains below 14.5% in Île-de-France and Pays de la Loire. Disparities which reflect differences in access to care, living conditions and food environment.
A bill that runs into billions
Obesity not only harms health, it also weighs heavily on public finances and the economy. The treatment of obesity and its complications represents 12.7 billion euros in 2024, or €1,291 on average per patient, according to a study by the Asterès firm carried out in 2025 for Novo Nordisk, the manufacturer of Wegovy, in partnership with the League Against Obesity. This cost is borne 80% by Health Insurance and 12% by complementary organizations.
The economic consequences go far beyond the health system. 273,000 women are excluded from the labor market due to their obesity, representing 2.7 billion euros in public spending according to the study by the Asterès firm. Pay discrimination is added to this: an obese woman receives on average €396 net less per year than her counterparts. In total, the medico-socio-economic cost of obesity would have reached 20 billion euros in 2024, and could exceed 23 billion by 2030.
France rather well ranked globally
Globally, Pacific island nations dominate the rankings with obesity rates above 40% of their adult populations. Among large developed countries, the United States is the most affected, with 42.4% of adults obese according to data from the World Obesity Federation. Mexico and New Zealand follow closely.
The United Kingdom reaches 27.8%, and several Eastern European countries exceed 25%. France remains below the average of OECD countries which reaches 19%. It is thus at the bottom of the ranking within the OECD, alongside Denmark, Switzerland, Korea and Japan.
