Overweight and BMI
How many Danes are overweight? And what is the average height for men and women?
Note: Below, we provide links to data from Statistics Denmark and to others who make statistics on the subject. In some instances, the sources referred to below have content in Danish only or limited content in English.
The National Institute of Public Health (NIPH) has prepared a national health profile “Den Nationale Sundhedsprofil 2023” (in Danish), which includes information on weight. It is available as a database as well as in publications: Danish Health Authority / National Institute of Public Health (all in Danish).
The National Institute of Public Health (NIPH) has published several articles and analyzes on the development in height and weight, including (in Danish):
- Vi bliver højere og tungere - men's and women's average height and weight tracked from 1987 onwards (2022)
- Andelen af danskere med overvægt, fremskrevet til 2040 - a projection analysis of severe and moderate obesity (2024)
Focus on children and young persons
With the contribution of DTU Food, Statistics Denmark has prepared an analysis on social inequality in the prevalence of overweight in Danish children:
- ”Ulighed i børneovervægt i Danmark” (2021) (in Danish)
The analysis supplements a report from the National Institute of Public Health (NIPH) on overweight among children and young people. The NIPH is also behind the survey of health behaviour in school-aged children “Skolebørnsundersøgelsen” (in Danish), which contains data on the well-being and health of children and young people - including overweight and obesity:
- ”Overvægt og svær overvægt blandt danske børn og unge” (2020) (in Danish)
- The survey on health behaviour in school-aged children (in Danish) is carried out every four years, last in 2022
The Danish Health Data Authority is behind a national database on children “Den Nationale Børnedatabase” (in Danish), which contains data on e.g. the height and weight of Danish children:
- About the The National Child Health Register (in Danish)
- Height and weight of school children at esundhed.dk (in Danish)
Internationally
Eurostat’s portal Statistics Explained can be used as a point of entry and guide for data on overweight in Europe:
- See the article "Overweight and obesity - BMI statistics"
The World Health Organization also has data on the subject:
- Subject page on Obesity and overweight
What is the average height for men and women?
Statistical Yearbook 2017 has a table (in Danish) of the results of the tests for determining the eligibility of young men for military service, including their BMI and height: "Sessionsresultat samt værnepligtiges BMI og højde“.
At the website of the Personnel Agency of the Danish Ministry of Defence, you will find a link to the average height, BMI etc. of conscripts through the years (in the box "Flere tal" - Statistik fra Forsvarets Dag).
The National Institute of Public Health (SIF) regularly collects data on the height and weight of the Danes:
- The most recent key results are available in the series "Ugens tal for folkesundhed“ showing average height and weight of men and women from 1987 until 2021
- Results from the KRAM survey (2007-2008) (in Danish) shows e.g. height and weight by percentiles
[This page was last reviewed in October 2024]