Standardised prevalence of overweight and obesity in the general population aged 25-74 yrs

The data shown above were collected by the EUCID project for the year 2005 (+/- 1 year). Standardization was carried out using the European Standard Population (IARC 1976). This makes data more comparable between countries of differing population age structure.

Body Mass Index (BMI) is defined as body weight divided by the square of body length (kg/m2). Data are shown separately for BMI 25.0-29.9 and BMI >= 30.0.

The data originates from Health Interview Surveys (self-reported) or Health Examination Surveys (actually measured). In some investigations self-reporting shows an underestimation when compared to actual measurement.

For more information on the prevalence of overweight see the EUphact Overweight.