Childhood obesity sees dramatic rise in Netherlands

Childhood obesity is continuing its steady increase in the Netherlands. Last year 13.4 percent of kids between the ages of 4 and 20 years were overweight, an 10 percent increase compared to 2015, AD reports based on figures from Statistics Netherlands.

Girls tend to struggle more with weight problems than boys - 13.9 percent of girls between the ages of 4 and 20 were overweight last year, compared to 12.9 percent of boys. And 5.9 percent of girls were underweight, compared to 5.6 percent of boys. The figures do show, however, that the percentage of girls that are underweight is decreasing, from 6.1 percent in 2015, while the percentage of underweight boys increased from 4.5 percent.

Of the over 13 percent of kids that are overweight, one in five are obese. Last year more girls(3 percent) were obese than boys (2.5 percent).