One-quarter of young adults are overweight

In 2018, 16 percent of all children and young people in the Netherlands aged 2 to 24 years were overweight. This applied to nearly one-quarter of young adults (18 to 24 years). In the period 2016-2018, three in ten overweight young adults stated they were unhappy about their weight. Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reports this on the basis of new figures for the Youth Monitor.
In the group 2 to 24-year-olds, 12.8 percent were moderately overweight, while 3.0 percent had severe overweight (obesity), based on their body mass index (BMI). The total share - 15.8 percent of children and young adults - is higher than in 2000, when it was still 12.5 percent.
Overweight is most prevalent among children and young people with a non-western migration background (25.1 percent) and among 18 to 24-year-olds (24 percent). Young people with a non-western migration background have higher obesity rates than young people without a migration background. There is no difference between boys and girls in terms of the prevalence of overweight.

Overweight 2 to 24-year-olds, 2018 (%)
 Moderately overweightSeverely overweight
Total12.83
Age
2 to 8 yrs8.13.8
9 to 17 yrs9.52.3
18 to 24 yrs20.83.3
Background
Native Dutch11.42.4
Western10.33.6
Non-western19.65.5

Three in ten overweight young adults dissatisfied

In a survey conducted from 2016 to 2018 inclusive, 67 percent of young adults - aged 18 to 24 years - responded they were satisfied with their body weight, while 11 percent said they were dissatisfied. With a share of 29 percent, overweight young adults are more likely to have a negative body image than those with a healthy body weight (5 percent). Dissatisfaction is greater among young women than among young men.

Satisfaction with weight, 18 to 24-year-olds, 2016-2018 (%)
 SatisfiedNeither satisfied nor dissatisfiedDissatisfied
  Healthy weight
Total78175
Women72227
Men83133
   Overweight
Total353629
Women233641
Men463618

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