Addis Ababa, Ethiopia +251 92 012 4183 cancer.prev.ethio@gmail.com

Reduce your risk

Weight and physical activity

Excess body weight and physical inactivity are established cancer risk factors. Ethiopian adult obesity was 2.9% in 2024, against a global figure of 16% in the same year. Physical inactivity was 9.4% in 2022, against a global 31% in the same year. Both comparisons are from the WHO Global Health Observatory. This page sets out what the Ethiopian figures show.

Key facts

  • In 2024, 2.9% of Ethiopian adults were living with obesity (opens in a new tab). The global figure for the same year was 16% (opens in a new tab). Both are age-standardised WHO estimates for adults aged 18 and over (indicator NCD_BMI_30A).
  • Ethiopia’s average adult body mass index was 20.4 in 2015 (opens in a new tab), near the bottom of the normal range. Undernutrition remains a live concern alongside emerging overweight. Body mass index is weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared. The normal band is 18.5 to 24.9.
  • In 2022, 9.4% of Ethiopian adults did not meet WHO’s recommended level of physical activity (indicator NCD_PAA). The global figure for the same year was 31% (opens in a new tab).
  • Ethiopian adult obesity rose from 0.4% in 1990 to 2.9% in 2024 (indicator NCD_BMI_30A). It was higher at every point in the series than at the point before. Separately, the 2015 national survey found overweight concentrated among urban residents.
Four cancer risk factors measured in Ethiopia, 2015 to 2024Horizontal bar chart of four cancer risk factors in Ethiopia. Adult obesity, ages 18 and over: Ethiopia 2.9 per cent in 2024 against a global 16 per cent in 2022. Physical inactivity, ages 18 and over: Ethiopia 9.4 per cent against a global 31 per cent, both 2022. Current tobacco use, ages 15 and over: Ethiopia 4.5 per cent in 2024, with no global figure on the same basis. Fruit and vegetable intake below five a day, ages 15 to 69: Ethiopia over 98 per cent in 2015, with no global figure on the same basis. 0% 50% 100% no global figure on the same basis no global figure on the same basis 2.9% Ethiopia 2024 16% Global 2022 9.4% Ethiopia 2022 31% Global 2022 4.5% Ethiopia 2024 over 98% Ethiopia 2015 Four cancer risk factors measured in Ethiopia, 2015 to 2024 Age denominators differ and are given under each measure; a global bar appears only where one is comparable Adult obesity, ages 18+ Physical inactivity, ages 18+ Current tobacco use, ages 15+ Fruit & veg below 5 a day, ages 15–69 Four cancer risk factors measured in Ethiopia, 2015 to 2024Horizontal bar chart of four cancer risk factors in Ethiopia. Adult obesity, ages 18 and over: Ethiopia 2.9 per cent in 2024 against a global 16 per cent in 2022. Physical inactivity, ages 18 and over: Ethiopia 9.4 per cent against a global 31 per cent, both 2022. Current tobacco use, ages 15 and over: Ethiopia 4.5 per cent in 2024, with no global figure on the same basis. Fruit and vegetable intake below five a day, ages 15 to 69: Ethiopia over 98 per cent in 2015, with no global figure on the same basis. 0% 50% 100% Adult obesity, ages 18+ Physical inactivity, ages 18+ Current tobacco use, ages 15+ no global figure on the same basis Fruit & veg below 5 a day, ages 15–69 no global figure on the same basis 2.9% Ethiopia 2024 16% Global 2022 9.4% Ethiopia 2022 31% Global 2022 4.5% Ethiopia 2024 over 98% Ethiopia 2015 Four cancer risk factors measured in Ethiopia, 2015 to 2024 Age denominators differ and are given under each measure; a global bar appears only where one is comparable
Four cancer risk factors measured in Ethiopia, 2015 to 2024, with a global comparator where one exists.
Sources
Sources, all WHO Global Health Observatory unless stated, retrieved 14 August 2026. Obesity: Ethiopia 2024, global 2022, indicator NCD_BMI_30A, ages 18+. Physical inactivity: 2022, indicator NCD_PAA, ages 18+. Tobacco: 4.5% is the WHO modelled estimate, indicator M_Est_tob_curr, Ethiopia ages 15+, 2024. The surveyed value for the same year and age range, from the Global Adult Tobacco Survey 2024 (TOBACCO_MPOWER_M1_PREVALENCE), is 4.6%. Both are published; neither is adopted. WHO publishes no global 15+ value in the modelled indicator, so no comparator is shown. Fruit and vegetables: Ethiopia STEPS survey 2015, ages 15–69, which reports ‘over 98%’ — a bound, not a point estimate; the bar is drawn at 98%. No global figure is measured on the same basis.
Table
Four cancer risk factors measured in Ethiopia, with a global comparator where one exists on the same basis.
MeasureEthiopiaGlobal
Adult obesity (2024 vs 2022) ages 18+2.9%16%
Physical inactivity (2022) ages 18+9.4%31%
Current tobacco use (2024) ages 15+4.5%no comparable global figure
Fruit & veg below 5 a day (2015) ages 15–69over 98%no comparable global figure

What the global evidence says

Worldwide in 2024, 45% of adults were overweight and 16% were living with obesity. That is 2.6 billion and 940 million people. Body weight above the healthy range was estimated to have caused 3.7 million deaths in 2023, from conditions that include heart disease, diabetes and cancers. WHO describes obesity as a chronic disease, driven by environmental, social, biological and behavioural factors. These figures are from WHO’s obesity fact sheet, updated in October 2026.

On activity, from WHO’s physical activity fact sheet of June 2024: 31% of adults did not meet the recommended 150 minutes a week of moderate activity in 2022. That is about 1.8 billion people. The share is five percentage points worse than in 2010, and is projected to reach 35% by 2030. Among adolescents aged 11–17, WHO’s 2024 physical activity fact sheet puts the insufficiently active share at 81%. On the same fact sheet, people who are insufficiently active carry a 20–30% higher risk of death than people who are. Regular activity lowers the incidence of certain cancers.

Ethiopian obesity over time

Ethiopian obesity is low and rising: 0.4% in 1990, 2.9% in 2024 (WHO Global Health Observatory, indicator NCD_BMI_30A).

What this means in Ethiopia

The national average BMI of 20.4 recorded in Ethiopia’s 2015 national STEPS survey sits near the bottom of the normal band of 18.5 to 24.9. Undernutrition and emerging overweight exist side by side in that population.

The 2015 national survey found overweight concentrated among urban residents. That puts any weight message in Addis Ababa and other cities rather than on a national footing.

The 2015 survey found rural Ethiopians more physically active than urban ones. What keeps people active in towns is the subject of WHO’s global action plan on physical activity: walkability, transport policy and urban design.

Adult obesity in Ethiopia was 2.9% in 2024 and physical inactivity 9.4% in 2022. Both are low by world standards. They are moving in different directions. Obesity has risen at every point in WHO’s series since 1990. Inactivity was 10.2% in 2016 and 9.4% in 2022 (indicator NCD_PAA).

How much cancer an exposure causes is not the same question as how common that exposure is. Two exposures can be equally widespread and account for entirely different amounts of disease. The risk each one carries is different, and so are the cancers it acts on. The figures that answer the question are attributable fractions. No study apportions Ethiopian cancers between causes. Worldwide in 2022, smoking accounted for 15.1% of cancer cases and infections for 10.2% (Fink and colleagues, Nature Medicine, February 2026, DOI 10.1038/s41591-026-04219-7). Infections account for around 30% of cases in low- and lower-middle-income countries, against about 10% worldwide. Those comparisons are set out on the infections and tobacco pages.

What you can do

  • Talk to a health worker before starting a weight-loss diet. Ethiopia’s average adult BMI was 20.4 in the 2015 national STEPS survey, near the bottom of the normal range. Undernutrition remains a live concern.
  • If you live in a city and your weight has been rising, treat it as worth watching — for diabetes and heart disease as much as for cancer.
  • Protect the walking you already do. Work or a commute that keeps you moving counts towards the 150 minutes a week of moderate activity WHO recommends.
  • Make sure children and pregnant women are eating enough. Ethiopia’s average adult BMI in the 2015 national STEPS survey was 20.4, and undernutrition remains a concern alongside emerging overweight.