The bar chart compares the proportion of overweight adults in four different countries – Japan, Finland, Australia, and the USA – at three ten-year intervals from 1980 to 2000.
Overall, it is clear that the percentage of overweight adults increased in all four nations over the 20-year period. The USA consistently recorded the highest levels of overweight individuals, while Japan maintained the lowest figures throughout.
In Japan, the proportion of overweight adults remained remarkably low and stable, starting at approximately 2% in both 1980 and 1990, before rising marginally to around 3% in 2000. Finland also saw a steady upward trend; its figures began at roughly 7% in 1980 and reached about 11% by the year 2000.
Australia and the USA experienced much more significant growth. In Australia, the rate of overweight adults rose from about 8% in 1980 to 11% in 1990, before surging to over 20% by 2000. The USA had the most dramatic figures, starting at 15% in 1980 – already higher than any other country’s peak – and climbing sharply to approximately 24% in 1990 and finally to a peak of just over 30% in 2000.