Comparability

Comparability - geographical

The statistics are not directly comparable with similar statistics that are published internationally. There are several international estimates of the proportion of overweight among children; e.g. in the publication Health at a Glance 2019: OECD Indicators, the OECD reports the proportion of overweight and obesity among children aged 5-9 for each of the OECD countries. However, the OECD uses the WHO's classification of overweight and obesity, where overweight is defined as a BMI of one standard deviation above the median and obesity as a BMI of two standard deviations above the median of the WHO's weight-for-height standard, while the present statistics are based on the IOFT's classification of overweight and obesity.

Comparability over time

There have been no changes in the method of assessment or the data composition, so the time series is fully comparable during the period.

Coherence - cross domain

The statistics are part of a theme about differences between rural and urban areas.

Health differences between rural and urban areas are also highlighted in the statistics Coverage of general practitioners, which measure the number of people per medical capacity by municipality group since 2015, and in the statistics Life expectancy for newborn babies, which measure the average life expectancy for newborn babies by municipality groups and sex since 2006-07.

Coherence - internal

The internal consistency of the statistics is ensured by first identifying the population, including the persons' weight status, from the National Child Health Register and then merging the population with information about sex, age, and the municipality of residence at the time of measurement from the population statistics.