Quarter of Dutch young people overweight

Last year 15.8 percent of children and young people, between the ages of 2 and 25, were overweight, compared to 12.5 percent in 2000. A quarter of young adults, aged between 18 and 25, were overweight, Statistics Netherlands reported on Wednesday.

Of the 2 to 25 year olds, 12.8 percent were moderately overweight last year and 3 percent were obese. Weight problems are most common among children and young people with a non-western migration background, with 25.1 percent being overweight, according to the stats office. There is no notable difference between the genders when it comes to weight problems.

67 percent of young adults were satisfied and 11 percent dissatisfied with their weight last year. Overweight young adults are more often dissatisfied with their weight, 29 percent, than young adults with a healthy weight, 5 percent.

The number of overweight children and young people has been rising for many years. In the early 1980s around 6 percent of teens between 12 and 20 years were overweight. Now that percentage is around 13 percent.

The increase is not visible among primary school children. The percentage of overweight children in this age group has been around 12 percent for years.