Obesity rate has tripled in the last 40 years

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In 2023, 16 percent of adults aged 20 years or older were obese. That was three times as many as in the early 1980s, when 5 percent were obese. The incidence of more severe forms of obesity also increased, from 1 percent in 1981 to 4 percent in 2023. This is according to the results of the National Health Survey/Lifestyle Monitor, 1981-2023, carried out by Statistics Netherlands (CBS) in partnership with the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM).

Data on the height and weight of the Dutch population has been collected every year in the Health Survey. A person’s Body Mass Index (BMI) can be used to determine whether he or she is overweight. The BMI is a person’s body weight in kilograms divided by the square of their height in metres. Adults with a BMI of 25 or higher are classified as overweight. A BMI of 25-29.9 means moderately overweight. Adults with a BMI of 30 or higher are classified as seriously overweight or obese. Obesity is further subdivided into three classes: a BMI of 30.0 to 34.9 (class 1), a BMI of 35 to 39.9 (class 2) and a BMI of 40 or higher (class 3). The latter class is also referred to as morbidly obese.

Class 1 obesity is the most common

Of the three classes of obesity, class 1 is the most prevalent. In 1981, 4 percent of adults in the Netherlands aged 20 and above were class 1 obese; by 2023, that proportion had risen to 12 percent. In 2023, 3 percent of adults aged 20 and above were class 2 obese, and 1 percent were morbidly obese.

In addition to those in the obese category, a further 35 percent of adults aged 20 and above are categorised as moderately overweight. That proportion was 28 percent in 1981. Overall, 51 percent of all adults aged 20 or older are classified as overweight, compared with 33 percent in the early 1980s. The share of people with obesity has increased by more than the share of people who are moderately overweight.

Obesity rate in the Netherlands is lower than in most EU countries

Around half of adults in the European Union (EU) were overweight in 2019. On average, 36 percent were moderately overweight, and 17 percent were categorised as obese. In the Netherlands, 15 percent of adults aged 18 and over were obese in 2019. That was the fourth-lowest percentage in the EU, after Romania, Italy and Bulgaria. The highest rates of obestity were in Malta,  Hungary and Croatia.

3 percent of adults categorised as obese think they are about the right weight

The Perceptions study asked respondents what they thought of their own body weight. Among obese adults aged 18 and above, the responses show that 27 percent consider themselves a little too heavy, 47 percent consider themselves too heavy, and 23 percent consider themselves much too heavy. 3 percent think their body weight is about right.

Among adults aged 18 and over who are moderately overweight, 22 percent think they are the right weight, and among adults with a body weight categorised as normal, 65 percent think they are the right weight.

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