More and more school-age boys are overweight or obese in Finland, the National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) said on Friday.
Thirty percent of elementary school boys were overweight or obese last year, up from 26 percent in 2017. In high schools, the proportion of overweight or obese boys increased from 27 percent to 30 percent over the same period.
No significant change was observed in the proportion of overweight or obese girls.
A total of 29 per cent of boys aged 2 to 16 were classified as overweight or obese last year, compared with only 18 per cent of girls of the same age.
Energy-rich foods and drinks
“The statistics don’t include lifestyle data, so we can’t assess the reasons for the increase in boys’ overweight, ”said THL’s development manager. Päivi Mäki.
"There are likely to be a number of lifestyle and habitat factors behind this increase in childhood obesity. For example, there is a wealth of energy-intensive food and drink, and sedentary lifestyles have become more common for both children and adults." he said.
Significant regional differences
The THL noted that there were large differences in the proportions of overweight or obese children and young people across municipalities, ranging from 13 to 57 per cent for boys and 11 to 39 per cent for girls.
The statistics are based on height and weight measurements of more than 360,000 children, compiled from child health clinics and school health care. Data for 2020 covered 41 per cent of young people aged 2–16.
However, last year the corona epidemic affected the number of health check-ups in outpatient clinics and school health care. According to a THL database report, child health clinic visits decreased by nearly seven percent and school health care visits by 21 percent compared to 2019.
Children with a body mass index (BMI) of 25 kg / m2 or more were defined as overweight or obese, while those with a BMI of 30 kg / m2 or more were classified as obese.
Source: The Nordic Page