Ranking of Fat Prefectures: BMI (Body Mass Index) by prefecture in Japan

Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare measures people's BMI (Body Mass Index) every year. According to it, the average BMI of Japanese people is 23.6 for men, 22.5 for women.

High BMI means more fat. The below shows the categories by BMI range.

Category	BMI
Very severely underweight	less than 15
Severely underweight	from 15.0 to 16.0
Underweight	from 16.0 to 18.5
Normal (healthy weight)	from 18.5 to 25
Overweight	from 25 to 30
Obese Class I (Moderately obese)	from 30 to 35
Obese Class II (Severely obese)	from 35 to 40
Obese Class III (Very severely obese)	over 40

Table 1: Men's ranking of BMI

Rank	Prefecture	No. of samples	Average BMI
1	Nagasaki	122	24.4
2	Aomori	165	24.3
3	Iwate	134	24.3
4	Akita	161	24.3
5	Okinawa	180	24.3
6	Ibaraki	203	24.2
7	Kanagawa	183	24.2
8	Kagawa	215	24.2
9	Miyagi	159	24.1
10	Ehime	147	24.1
11	Kochi	76	24.1
12	Tokushima	122	24.0
13	Kumamoto	103	24.0
14	Oita	195	24.0
15	Yamagata	143	23.9
16	Shimane	161	23.9
17	Fukushima	129	23.8
18	Gunma	253	23.8
19	Hyogo	130	23.8
20	Okayama	133	23.8
21	Tochigi	288	23.7
22	Yamanashi	200	23.7
23	Hiroshima	143	23.7
24	Kagoshima	59	23.7
25	Hokkaido	90	23.6
26	Saitama	217	23.6
27	Miyazaki	121	23.6
28	Chiba	200	23.5
29	Aichi	100	23.5
30	Yamaguchi	112	23.5
31	Tokyo	143	23.4
32	Nagano	259	23.4
33	Shizuoka	202	23.4
34	Shiga	104	23.4
35	Kyoto	82	23.4
36	Nara	187	23.4
37	Wakayama	103	23.3
38	Saga	152	23.3
39	Fukui	131	23.2
40	Tottori	173	23.2
41	Niigata	172	23.1
42	Toyama	127	23.1
43	Ishikawa	155	23.1
44	Osaka	99	23.1
45	Gifu	176	23.0
46	Fukuoka	188	23.0
47	Mie	85	22.8
	Average	7,182	23.6

Table 2: Women's ranking of BMI

Rank	Prefecture	No. of samples	Average BMI
1	Okinawa	154	23.9
2	Nagasaki	111	23.6
3	Iwate	132	23.4
4	Kochi	79	23.4
5	Akita	173	23.3
6	Aomori	126	23.2
7	Tochigi	205	23.2
8	Kyoto	107	23.2
9	Ehime	142	23.1
10	Oita	145	23.1
11	Miyagi	118	23.0
12	Fukushima	117	23.0
13	Gunma	191	23.0
14	Tokushima	116	23.0
15	Fukui	131	22.9
16	Kumamoto	133	22.9
17	Hokkaido	80	22.8
18	Yamagata	177	22.8
19	Ibaraki	200	22.8
20	Okayama	127	22.8
21	Toyama	140	22.7
22	Aichi	85	22.7
23	Osaka	100	22.6
24	Shimane	150	22.6
25	Miyazaki	122	22.6
26	Nagano	201	22.5
27	Shizuoka	146	22.5
28	Chiba	166	22.4
29	Niigata	166	22.4
30	Hyogo	129	22.4
31	Hiroshima	111	22.4
32	Yamaguchi	113	22.4
33	Yamanashi	171	22.3
34	Saga	134	22.3
35	Saitama	168	22.2
36	Nara	167	22.2
37	Kagawa	184	22.2
38	Fukuoka	164	22.2
39	Kagoshima	96	22.2
40	Shiga	110	22.1
41	Tottori	152	22.1
42	Tokyo	104	22.0
43	Ishikawa	146	22.0
44	Gifu	145	22.0
45	Wakayama	101	22.0
46	Kanagawa	126	21.6
47	Mie	85	21.5
	Average	6,446	22.5