Only 23 percent of men and 42 percent of women between the ages of 40 and 49 have a BMI below 25, which is considered normal weight. The rest are overweight or obese. It presents data from several studies that are described in chapter of the Public Health Report on overweight and obesity.
Obesity is considered a body mass index (BMI) of 25 or more, which turns into obesity when the BMI is 30.
- We can see that there are more people who are overweight and obese than those who are of normal weight. In the case of overweight and obesity, men are the most numerous, but slightly more women have obesity grades 2 and 3 (BMI ≥ 35 and 40 kg / m 2 ), Says chief physician Haakon Meyer at the National Institute of Public Health.
"We don't know the reason for this, but for both very low and very high BMI, the percentage is higher in women than in men," says Meyer.
Increased waist width
We can also measure obesity in a different way than BMI. Waist measurement is a method of measuring the so-called abdominal obesity. The percentage of people with abdominal obesity has also increased.
"It's no surprise that the percentage of people who are overweight and obese has increased in recent years, which is a long-term trend," says Meyer.
In addition, waist circumference has increased sharply in both men and women, says Meyer.
Over time, there is also an increase in overweight and obesity in children. However, it may seem that this growth has stabilized in recent years. However, there is a lack of data from Norway after the Covid-19 pandemic.
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Big geographic differences
Obesity rates are higher outside of cities than in cities. 22 percent Nordland's residents are obese, compared to just 11 percent. in Oslo. This is shown by data from a national public health survey conducted by the National Institute of Public Health in 2020.
- We know from previous studies that a small percentage of the urban population is obese. Oslo is the only county in Norway with just one city, says Meyer.
Source: National Institute of Public Health
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