Approximately half of all people in the Netherlands had a normal body weight in 2022, measured by the industry-standard Body Mass Index method. Men were more likely to be overweight than women, whereas more women than men were underweight. Interestingly, obesity was found more often among women, with approximately ** percent of Dutch females suffering from being severely overweight. Looking at the overall population, more than half of the Dutch inhabitants aged 20 years and older were overweight.

Weight issues vary between generations

Age groups in the Netherlands suffered from several different health problems related to weight and body image. A recent study found that obesity occured in more than ** percent of Dutch inhabitants aged 50 to 64 years old, whereas only * percent of Gen Z and millennials (aged 18 to 34 years old) were obese. When confronted with the question of how they perceive their own bodies, nearly ** percent of the Dutch millennials think they are overweight. This may have something to do with the omnipresence of unattainable beauty ideals on social media, often portrayed by fitgirl/boy influencers.

Global perspective

When looking at adults, the share of obesity in the Netherlands was quite close to the global average, being much lower than in the United States, Russia, or Iceland, to name but a few examples. In contrast, the prominence of underweight issues among Dutch youth was disproportionate in an international context. Nearly ** percent of Dutch ** and 15-year-old boys were underweight, which was more than in any other European country. the aforementioned negative body image may have been part of the cause for this frequency of underweight issues.

Netherlands NL: Prevalence of Overweight: Weight for Height: % of Children Under 5, Modeled Estimate data was reported at 5.400 % in 2024. This records an increase from the previous number of 5.300 % for 2023. Netherlands NL: Prevalence of Overweight: Weight for Height: % of Children Under 5, Modeled Estimate data is updated yearly, averaging 4.000 % from Dec 2000 (Median) to 2024, with 25 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 5.400 % in 2024 and a record low of 3.000 % in 2001. Netherlands NL: Prevalence of Overweight: Weight for Height: % of Children Under 5, Modeled Estimate data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Netherlands – Table NL.World Bank.WDI: Social: Health Statistics. Prevalence of overweight children is the percentage of children under age 5 whose weight for height is more than two standard deviations above the median for the international reference population of the corresponding age as established by the WHO's 2006 Child Growth Standards.;UNICEF, WHO, World Bank: Joint child Malnutrition Estimates (JME).;Weighted average;Once considered only a high-income economy problem, overweight children have become a growing concern in developing countries. Research shows an association between childhood obesity and a high prevalence of diabetes, respiratory disease, high blood pressure, and psychosocial and orthopedic disorders (de Onis and Blössner 2003). Childhood obesity is associated with a higher chance of obesity, premature death, and disability in adulthood. In addition to increased future risks, obese children experience breathing difficulties and increased risk of fractures, hypertension, early markers of cardiovascular disease, insulin resistance, and psychological effects. Children in low- and middle-income countries are more vulnerable to inadequate nutrition before birth and in infancy and early childhood. Many of these children are exposed to high-fat, high-sugar, high-salt, calorie-dense, micronutrient-poor foods, which tend be lower in cost than more nutritious foods. These dietary patterns, in conjunction with low levels of physical activity, result in sharp increases in childhood obesity, while under-nutrition continues. Estimates are modeled estimates produced by the JME. Primary data sources of the anthropometric measurements are national surveys. These surveys are administered sporadically, resulting in sparse data for many countries. Furthermore, the trend of the indicators over time is usually not a straight line and varies by country. Tracking the current level and progress of indicators helps determine if countries are on track to meet certain thresholds, such as those indicated in the SDGs. Thus the JME developed statistical models and produced the modeled estimates.

Supplementary files for article Supplementary information files for Height and body-mass index trajectories of school-aged children and adolescents from 1985 to 2019 in 200 countries and territories: a pooled analysis of 2181 population-based studies with 65 million participants.
BackgroundComparable global data on health and nutrition of school-aged children and adolescents are scarce. We aimed to estimate age trajectories and time trends in mean height and mean body-mass index (BMI), which measures weight gain beyond what is expected from height gain, for school-aged children and adolescents.
MethodsFor this pooled analysis, we used a database of cardiometabolic risk factors collated by the Non-Communicable Disease Risk Factor Collaboration. We applied a Bayesian hierarchical model to estimate trends from 1985 to 2019 in mean height and mean BMI in 1-year age groups for ages 5–19 years. The model allowed for non-linear changes over time in mean height and mean BMI and for non-linear changes with age of children and adolescents, including periods of rapid growth during adolescence.
FindingsWe pooled data from 2181 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight in 65 million participants in 200 countries and territories. In 2019, we estimated a difference of 20 cm or higher in mean height of 19-year-old adolescents between countries with the tallest populations (the Netherlands, Montenegro, Estonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina for boys; and the Netherlands, Montenegro, Denmark, and Iceland for girls) and those with the shortest populations (Timor-Leste, Laos, Solomon Islands, and Papua New Guinea for boys; and Guatemala, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Timor-Leste for girls). In the same year, the difference between the highest mean BMI (in Pacific island countries, Kuwait, Bahrain, The Bahamas, Chile, the USA, and New Zealand for both boys and girls and in South Africa for girls) and lowest mean BMI (in India, Bangladesh, Timor-Leste, Ethiopia, and Chad for boys and girls; and in Japan and Romania for girls) was approximately 9–10 kg/m2. In some countries, children aged 5 years started with healthier height or BMI than the global median and, in some cases, as healthy as the best performing countries, but they became progressively less healthy compared with their comparators as they grew older by not growing as tall (eg, boys in Austria and Barbados, and girls in Belgium and Puerto Rico) or gaining too much weight for their height (eg, girls and boys in Kuwait, Bahrain, Fiji, Jamaica, and Mexico; and girls in South Africa and New Zealand). In other countries, growing children overtook the height of their comparators (eg, Latvia, Czech Republic, Morocco, and Iran) or curbed their weight gain (eg, Italy, France, and Croatia) in late childhood and adolescence. When changes in both height and BMI were considered, girls in South Korea, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and some central Asian countries (eg, Armenia and Azerbaijan), and boys in central and western Europe (eg, Portugal, Denmark, Poland, and Montenegro) had the healthiest changes in anthropometric status over the past 3·5 decades because, compared with children and adolescents in other countries, they had a much larger gain in height than they did in BMI. The unhealthiest changes—gaining too little height, too much weight for their height compared with children in other countries, or both—occurred in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, New Zealand, and the USA for boys and girls; in Malaysia and some Pacific island nations for boys; and in Mexico for girls.
InterpretationThe height and BMI trajectories over age and time of school-aged children and adolescents are highly variable across countries, which indicates heterogeneous nutritional quality and lifelong health advantages and risks.

The Food Consumption Survey charts what the Netherlands eats and drinks. Food consumption data provide insight into the consumption of food, the intake of macro- and micronutrients, the intake of potentially harmful chemicals and their developments (trends).

The figures in this table are from the Food Consumption Survey (VCP) 2019-2021 of the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM). This table contains data on the average contribution (%) of a moment of consumption to the intake of a nutrient of people aged 1 to 80 years. The data are broken down by gender and age as well as for different population groups. Not all breakdowns are available, then empty lines will be shown. The available breakdowns are: — Total population — Age in 2 groups — Gender in 2 groups — Age and gender in 4 groups — Age and gender in 12 groups — Training — Training by sex — Training by age in 2 groups — Age and gender education in 4 groups — Region — Region by gender — Region by age in 2 groups — Region by age and gender in 4 groups — Urbanisation — Urbanisation by gender — Urbanisation by age in 2 groups — Urbanisation by age and gender in 4 groups — BMI — BMI by sex — BMI by age in 2 groups — BMI by age and gender in 4 groups

The nutritional data was collected from approximately 3,500 children and adults with two 24-hour feeding questions. More information about the study can be found on the website www.wateetnederland.nl (see also the publications on this website). A number of tables of information are included on Statline.

[English] 1. EXPLANATION The Food Consumption Survey charts the food consumption in the Netherlands. The food consumption data provides insight into consumption, the intake of macro and micronutrients, the intake of potential chemical substances and its changes in time.

The figures in this table are from the Food Consumption Survey (VCP) 2019-2021 of the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM). This table contains data on the mean contribution (%) of a consumption moment to the intake of a nutrient of people aged 1 to 80 years. The data are broken down by gender and age and different population groups. Not all the breakdowns are available, if not, then empty lines are shown in the table. The available breakdowns are: — Total population — Age in 2 groups — Sex in 2 groups Age and Sex in 4 groups Age and Sex in 12 groups — Education Education broken down by sex Education broken down by age in 2 groups Education broken down by age and sex in 4 groups — Region Region broken down by sex Region broken down by age in 2 groups Region broken down age and sex in 4 groups — Urbanisation Urbanisation broken down by sex Urbanisation broken down by age in 2 groups Urbanisation broken down by age and sex in 4 groups — BMI BMI Broken Down by Sex BMI broken down by age in 2 groups BMI Broken Down by Age and Sex in 4 Groups

The data have been collected from around 3500 children and adults with two 24-hour dietary recalls. More information about the study can be found on the website www.wateetnederland.nl (see also publications on this website) or in the other tables on RIVM-Statline.

Data available: 2019-2021

[English] Data available from: 2019-2021

Status of the figures: Version 2022-12

[English] Status of the data: Version 2022-12

When will there be new figures? The next poll is expected to start at the end of 2024.

[English] When are the data updated? The next survey is expected to start at the end of 2024.

Δ = delta: is the difference between mean BMI SDS in premenarcheal and postmenarcheal girls for that age group.

1Average Nutrient Requirements (ANR), also known as Estimated Average Requirements (EAR) are defined as level of intake sufficient to meet the requirement for half of the healthy individuals in a particular life stage and gender group. The ANRs are the same as used in the most recent Dutch National food consumption survey 2007–2010 [3].2For iron: average for male, 6 g/d and female, 8.1 g/d;3For vitamin A: average for male, 620 µg/d and female, 530 µg/d;4For vitamin B2: average for male, 1.1 mg/d and female, 0.8 mg/d.5Percentage of the population with nutrient intakes insufficient for their personal requirements. In other words: the percentage at risk for inadequacy.