**Background:** Obesity is a complex, multifactorial disease with rising global prevalence—projected to reach 18% in men and exceed 21% in women by 2025. While economic wealth and obesity generally show a direct relationship, variations exist across regions (e.g., East Asian countries like Japan and South Korea have low obesity despite economic prosperity, while Middle Eastern and Latin American nations have high obesity with lower economic development). This study aims to determine whether the social dimension of globalization plays a greater or lesser role in raising obesity risk, using a composite global social index derived from eight indicators.
**Methods:** Data were collected from 183 countries over the period 2008–2019 from multiple global databases including the KOF Globalization Index, World Development Indicators (World Bank), WHO, FAO, and Our World in Data. Eight global social indicators were initially identified: Human Development Index (%), Social Globalization (%), Political Globalization (%), Global Happiness Index (Life Ladder in %), Quality of Overall Infrastructures (1–7 scale), Institutions (%), Individuals Using the Internet (% of population), and Quality of Roads (1–7 scale). One indicator (Poverty headcount ratio at $1.90/day) was removed due to excessive missing data, leaving seven indicators. Principal Axis Factoring (PAF) was used to construct a composite global social index. Pearson correlation, regression modeling, and clustering analyses were performed to examine relationships between social indicators and global obesity across different human development levels (low, medium, high, very high).
**Key Results:** The correlation matrix showed positive direct relationships between all social indicators and global human obesity. The strongest correlations with obesity were social globalization (r=0.6675), human development index (r=0.6429), and individuals using the internet (r=0.6191). Political globalization showed the weakest correlation (r=0.2027). The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) measure was 0.88, Chi-square was 917.7801 (p=0.000), and RMSR was 0.09, indicating the index was adequate. The correlation between the global social index and medium human development level was 0.550 (positive and direct). At very high human development, the correlation was −0.121 (weak, negative, indirect). At low human development, the correlation was −0.078 (negligible, negative, weak). The regression model for individual social indicators showed an R-square of 0.53 (p=0.000), meaning social indicators contributed 53% to the impact on global obesity. Significant positive predictors included social globalization (estimate=0.30325, p=0.000), global happiness index (estimate=1.34065, p=0.000), individuals using the internet (estimate=0.08467, p=0.000), and quality of roads (estimate=1.038, p=0.0127). Significant negative predictors included political globalization (estimate=−0.10652, p=0.000), quality of infrastructures (estimate=−1.38231, p=0.0083), and institutions (estimate=−3.23441, p=0.000). The human development index was not significant (estimate=1.7155, p=0.72014). The overall model using the composite global social index showed that a one-unit increase in the global social index increased global human obesity by 4.887 units (p=0.000, R-square=0.3289).
**Clinical Implications:** The study demonstrates that social globalization, internet usage, and happiness are positively associated with rising obesity, particularly in medium human development countries undergoing industrialization and nutritional transition. Conversely, political globalization, quality infrastructure, and strong institutions may help mitigate obesity. These findings can help policymakers monitor obesity patterns and design targeted interventions—especially for populations in medium-HDI countries where economic development is driving dietary shifts toward processed foods and sedentary lifestyles. The authors emphasize that systemic, culturally-aware approaches are needed rather than purely individual-level therapies.