Since the beginning of the 1980s the percentage of obese people in the population has doubled from 5 percent to 10 percent in 2005. Obesity has increased most among young women, non-manual workers and those who live outside of urban areas.
Obesity (BMI>30) is about as common among women as it is among men. Obesity has, however, increased most among young women and is now almost as common as obesity among young men. Among the middle-aged, obesity is still more common for men.
Obesity has increased for all socioeconomic groups but the increase has been greatest among non-manual workers, especially among men. Obesity is more usual in sparsely populated areas. The proportion of obese people is almost twice as high in sparsely populated areas as it is in big cities. Among women in urban areas, there has not been a noteworthy increase in the proportion of obese in the last ten years.
Information on overweight and obesity is available via Statistics Sweden's annual surveys on living conditions (LCS). The basis for this information is derived from self-reported information on weight and height which has been gathered regularly since 1980.
See the full article in Swedish:
"Var tionde svensk är fet"
Other articles appearing in the same issue of Välfärd magazine include:
"Finlanders still the most"
"Record immigration 2006"
"International Women's Day celebrated since 1910"
"Increased income differences"
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