By the numbers

Nearly 20% of Israeli children are obese or in danger of becoming obese. Nearly 25% of Israeli adults are obese (with a BMI of 30 and above). Roughly 75% of morbidly obese Israelis (with a BMI of 40 or above) are women. The youngest people to undergo bariatric surgery in Israel have been 13-14 years old. The oldest have been in their 70s. Although obesity is a disease characteristic of an affluent society, it mostly strikes the poor.