How third smallest country on Earth became the most obese nation on the planet

It might be only 21 square kilometers, but one of the world's smallest countries is home to one of the most obese nations in the world.

While the populations of Western countries, like the US and the UK, are among the most overweight on the planet, this particular island nation has a population of around 12,000, according to the World Health Organization.

A 2023 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey as part of the Global Nutrition Report shows almost two-thirds of all their adults are now obese, with women at a slightly higher rate than men.

The country in question is Nauru, located in the South Pacific Ocean, north-east of Australia and just south of the equator.

Nauru was once a thriving, rich country thanks to its lucrative phosphate mines - a key ingredient in fertilizers. Yet its riches quite literally ran out in 2006, after foreign exporters had cleared out its mines, leaving nothing behind.

Obesity rates are a cause for concern across many parts of the world (Aleksandr Zubkov/Getty Images)

Now, Nauru is among the countries with the lowest national income. And its mining past means the land is no longer suitable for farming, so food has to be imported.

So, Australia, New Zealand and Fiji regularly send food supplies - which are often non-perishable and therefore high in saturated fats.

Back in 2024, YouTuber Ruhi Çenet visited the country and upon stepping foot in a supermarket, he saw the shelves stacked high with tinned goods including Spam.

Fresh produce, however, comes at a steep cost; he spots a cauliflower for $12.45 and a whole watermelon for a staggering $40.95.

Meanwhile, Diabetes.co.uk reports that Nauru has the highest rates of type 2 diabetes in the world, with more than 40 percent of the population impacted.

Nauru is the third-smallest country in the world - larger than only Vatican City and Monaco (Planet Observer/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

The National Health Service explains that the disease - caused by insulin resistance and insufficient insulin production - can cause deadly health consequences.

These include damage to the blood vessels, which can cause coronary heart disease and stroke, foot problems such as ulcers and infections, sight problems and blindness, as well as kidney issues.

Dr. Ruth Colagiuri, an associate professor at the University of Sydney who'd helped with Nauru's healthcare plans, explained: "On my first visit to Nauru in the early 1990s, diabetes was rampant and there weren’t many facilities to cope.

"A large number of the people with diabetes were suffering from amputations and blindness.

According to World Population Review, Nauru is the third most obese countries in the world as of 2025.

A recent survey shows climbing rates of obesity; women aged 18 and over now record a 65.6 percent obesity prevalence.

What's more is that in Nauru, carrying extra weight is often seen as a badge of prosperity; evidence that manual work is no longer necessary.

Nauru has received donated haemodialysis machines from other countries (Pramote Polyamate/Getty Images)

In a community where strenuous physical work was the norm until quite recently, leading a sedentary life is now regarded as admirable - and even aspirational.

Even if you compare obesity rates in the compare the US - whose population is around 29,000 times larger than Nauru's - you find that around two-thirds of Nauruan adults live with obesity, compared to roughly two-in-five US adults.

And with one adult in five affected by diabetes, Nauru’s diabetes rate is 60 percent higher than the US average, reflecting longer exposure to very high BMI levels.

Children are following the same trajectory, with Nauru’s projected youth-obesity rate of 38 percent almost double that of US children today.