Different perceptions about obesity: compared to the global average, Romanians feel the social stigma less
Romanians who are overweight or living with obesity, included in the latest syndicated study carried out by Ipsos – “Global Perceptions of Obesity Study”, feel the pressure of social judgment to a lesser extent.
Romanians' perception of their weight is different from that of respondents from other countries included in the research.
More precisely, in Romania, 17% of those interviewed, and who live with obesity, declared that they face judgments related to their physical appearance; globally, the average is 35%.
At the same time, 23% of them feel comfortable or less embarrassed by their own weight. For comparison, globally, this percentage reaches 35% of the people who took part in the Ipsos research and live with obesity.
At the same time, Romanians show an above-average level of awareness regarding the risks that this chronic, progressive and relapsing disease, which can still be prevented and treated, involves for their health and they perceive more intensely its negative effects, which stimulates their desire for change.
Thus, in Romania, 41% of people living with obesity, interviewed by Ipsos, frequently worry about the problems they might have in the future, and 20% of them are frequently anxious about their current state of health.
For comparison, among normal-weight Romanians (who took part in the Ipsos study), the percentage of those who worry about their health reaches 31%.
Moreover, 66% of those living with obesity and included in the study associate it with type 2 diabetes (53% – global average), and 64% of them with heart disease (global average is 52%).
Obesity – increasingly widespread in Romania and in the world
In Romania, the number of people whose weight exceeds the range considered healthy is increasing.
Fewer than 4 in 10 people aged 10 and over are at a healthy weight; the rest are overweight or living with obesity, according to the Romanian Metabolic Surgery Society.
The same source also shows that the share of people who are overweight or living with obesity is higher among those over 44 (72%) and more common among men (66%) or inactive people (73%).
Also, the 2025 edition of the Obesity Atlas shows that 70% of adults in our country have a high Body Mass Index (BMI), and 39% of them live with obesity; by 2030, almost 11 million Romanian adults will be overweight or obese.
The global picture is similar to the local one, with the number of adults living with obesity doubling since 1990, according to World Health Organization data. In addition, the Global Obesity Federation estimates that by 2030, 1 in 5 women and 1 in 7 men (over 1 billion people in total) will be living with obesity.
22% of Romanians who have a high BMI do not consider that they have weight problems
According to the Romanian Society of Metabolic Surgery, people who perceive themselves as having a BMI above the normal-weight range are generally right, but there is also a segment of 22% of the population who consider themselves to have no weight problems.
Among those who underestimate their number of kilograms, there are more men, aged over 65.
In terms of health status, normal-weight individuals who took part in the Ipsos study said, in a higher proportion than those living with obesity, that they were satisfied with their physical health; the difference between the two categories is 24 percentage points.
The above data therefore highlight the need for a more nuanced understanding of obesity, not just as a weight problem, but as a complex medical condition with important implications for individual and public health. Increasing the level of information and encouraging access to specialized medical support can contribute to a more effective management of this disease, both at the individual level and at the level of society.
About the syndicated study Ipsos
The syndicated Ipsos study on Global Perceptions of Obesity was conducted online, in 14 countries around the world (including Romania), between December 2025 and January 2026.
In Romania, 1,000 adults were interviewed, of which 201 people living with obesity and 799 people not living with obesity. The general population sample was stratified by age, gender and region.
The Romanian sample is more urban, more educated and/or more prosperous than the general population, with the results mainly reflecting the views of the more “connected” segment of the population.
The classification of respondents according to weight status was carried out based on self-reported height and weight, using the following definitions:
- people living with obesity: BMI ≥30;
- non-obese people: BMI
The data were not weighted. Obesity prevalence rates in the sample are based on self-reported information and are used solely for comparative analysis of perceptions, not as a substitute for official epidemiological statistics.
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