Difficult obesity is more common in boys than girls

Difficult Obesity is more common in Finnish boys than girls, according to the National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) from last year’s statistical data.

For the first time, information on the prevalence of severe obesity was published for the first time in the statistics based on information on clinics and school health care.

According to statistics, 1.7 per cent of boys aged 2 to 16 years and 0.6 per cent of girls aged 2-16 were difficult last year.

The statistics are the criterion of overweight and obesity as a body mass index corresponding to an adult body mass index. Difficult obesity means that the body mass index is 35 or more.

Most common Obesity and obesity had boys and girls in the Satakunta wellness area and the rareest in Helsinki.

Difficult obesity was most common in boys in Kainuu (2.9 %) and for girls in the Satakunta wellness area (1.0 %).

It was the rareest for boys in Helsinki (1.0 %) and girls in Western Uusimaa and Helsinki (0.4 %).

Statistics are based on the length and weight of about 496,000 children and adolescents. They were measured in children’s clinics and school health care during 2023. The information covers more than half of the country and adolescents of 2-16 year olds.

About A quarter of the boys and less than one fifth of the girls had obesity or overweight last year. The stakes were 0.9 percentage points for boys and 0.4 percentage points for girls than in 2022.

Obesity or obesity was more common in boys than girls in all age groups.