United Nations Economic Commission for Europe

Source: UNECE Statistical Database, compiled from national official sources. Definition: Body Mass Index (BMI) is the international standard for measuring underweight, overweight, and obesity and is defined as the weight of a person (in kg) divided by the square of the person’s height (in metres): kg/sqm. Standard BMI categories are: BMI less than 18.5 kg/sqm = underweight. BMI between 25 and 30 kg/sqm = overweight. BMI 30kg/sqm and more = obesity. General note: Percentage .. - data not available Country: Armenia 2005: Data refer to population aged 15-49 and age groups: 20-44 refers to 20-29, 45-64 refers to 30-39 and 65+ refers to 40-49. Country: Austria Break in methodlogy (2006): Data for 2006 come from the Autrian Health Interview Survey, before 2006 from the Labour force Survey ad hoc module on smoking habits. Country: Austria Change in definition (1990): Data refer to population aged 20+. Country: Austria Change in definition (2000): Data refer to population aged 20+ Country: Austria Reference period (1990): Data refer to 1991. Country: Austria Reference period (2000): Data refer to 1999. Country: Belarus Data refer to population aged 16+. Country: Belgium 15-19 age group refers to 18-19 years old Country: Bulgaria Break in methodlogy (2008): 2008 data come from the European Health Interview Survey and 2001 from the Demographic and Health survey. Country: Canada Data exclude institutional residents and full-time members of the Canadian Forces. Country: Canada Data exclude residents of Indian Reserves, Crown Lands and certain remote regions. Country: Croatia Change in definition (2003): Data refer to population aged 18+. Country: Cyprus Data cover only government controlled area. Country: Czechia 1990, 1995 and 2000: data refer to 1993, 1996 and 1999. Country: Denmark Data refer to population aged 16+ and age group 15-19 refers to 16-19. Country: Denmark Data collection mode changed from face-to-face interview to self-administered questionnaires in 2010. Country: Denmark Reference period (1990): Data refer to 1987. Country: Denmark Reference period (1995): Data refer to 1994. Country: Estonia Data refer to population aged 16-64. Country: Estonia Reference period (1995): Data refer to 1996 Country: Finland Data refer to population aged 15-64. Age group 65+ refers to 65-84 year olds. Country: France BMI is calculated on the basis of the declared weight of respondents. Country: France Reference area: 2003, 2014 - Metropolitan France; 2008 - Metropolitan France and overseas departments. Country: Germany Data refer to population aged 18+. 2000: data refer to 1999. Country: Hungary Data refer to population aged 18+. Country: Iceland Data refer to population aged 20-80 except in 2007 and 2012 where data refer to population aged 18-79. Data are not published for the age group 18-24 (15-24) as figures are too small. Country: Ireland Data refer to population aged 18+. Age group 15-19 refers to 18-19. - 2000: data refer to 1998. From 2015, data refer to population aged 15 and over and are measured data. Individuals interviewed in the Health Ireland survey 2015 survey were asked to undertake a physical measurement module. Country: Israel Break in methodlogy (2010): For 2010 data come from the Social Survey while for 2003 data come from the Knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) Survey. Country: Israel Change in definition (2003): Data refer to population aged 21+. Country: Israel Change in definition (2010): Data refer to population aged 20+. Country: Italy Change in definition (1990 - 2012): Data refer to population aged 18+. Country: Italy Reference period (1995): Data refer to 1994. Country: Italy Reference period (2000): Data refer to 1999/2000. Country: Latvia Data for 2003 - from the Health Interview Survey. Data cover population 15-75 years old.Data for 2004, 2006, 2010 and 2012 - from Health Behaviour Survey among Latvian Adult population. Data cover population 15-64 years old.Data for 2008 and 2014 - from the European Health iInterview Survey (EHIS). Data cover population 15+, age groups: 15-19 refers to 15-24; 20-44 refers to 25-44. Country: Malta Data refer to population aged 18+ residing in private households. 2003: data for age group 15 - 24 are not available due to under-representation. Country: Netherlands Data refer to population aged 20 and over. Overweight: BMI 25 kg/sqm or more. In 2014, interviewing and weighting method was changed, causing a break in the time series. Country: Netherlands Reference period (1980): Data refer to 1981. Country: Norway Change in definition (1995 onward): Data refer to population 16 years +. Data on height and weight are self-reported. Country: Norway Reference period (2000): Data refer to 1998. Country: Poland Reference period (1995): Data refer to 1996. Country: Portugal Data for age group 15-19 refers to 18-19. 2000: data cover mainland territory (without Autonomous Regions of Acores and Madeira) and refers to 1998-1999. 2005: data refers to 2005-2006 (all territory). 2014: data with a coefficient of variation of 20% or more are not disseminated. Body Mass Index is reported for persons 18+ years. Country: Russian Federation Data refer to age groups 14-18 and 19-44 instead of 15-19 and 20-44 Country: Slovakia Until 2009, data refer to population aged up to 64. In 2009 and 2014 some values are not shown due to low sample sizes. Country: Slovakia Reference period (1990): Data refer to 1993. Country: Slovakia Reference period (1995): Data refer to 1998. Country: Slovakia Territorial change (1990): Data cover 2 districts (Banska Bystrica and Brezno) Country: Slovakia Territorial change (1995): Data cover 3 districts (Banska Bystrica, Brezno and Trebisov) Country: Slovakia Territorial change (2003): Data cover 9 districts (Banska Bystrica, Brezno, Trebisov, Dunajska Streda, Dolny Kubin, Nove Zamky, Bratislava II, Kosice II and Roznava). Country: Slovenia Break in methodlogy (2007): Data for 2007 comes from the European Health Interview Survey, for other years from the Countrywide Integrated Noncommunicable Disease Intervention survey Country: Slovenia Change in definition (2001 - 2004): Data for population aged 25-64. Country: Slovenia Change in definition (2008 - 2012): Data for population aged 25-74. Country: Spain Break in methodlogy (2003): Proxy were allowed Country: Spain Change in definition (2001): Data refer to Spanish nationals only aged 16+. Country: Spain Change in definition (2006): Age group 15-19 refers to 18-44. Country: Spain Change in definition (2009 onward): Age group 15-24 refers to 16-24. For population aged 16-17 overweight and obesity cut offs are defined according to Cole et al. BMJ 2000;320:1240-3, and underweight cut offs according to Cole et al. BMJ 2007;335:194-7. Country: Sweden Change in definition (1980 - 2001): Obesity: BMI>30 kg/sqm. Data refer to population aged 16-84; data for age group 65+ refers to 65-84. Country: Sweden Change in definition (2002 - 2010): Obesity: BMI>30 kg/sqm. Data refer to population aged 16+, data for age group 15-19 refers to 16-19. Country: Sweden Change in definition (2011 - onwards): Data refer to population aged 16+, data for age group 15-19 refers to 16-19. Country: Sweden Reference period (1990): Data refer to 1989 Country: Sweden Reference period (1995): Data refer to 1996 Country: Switzerland Reference period (1990): Data refer to 1992. Country: Switzerland Reference period (1995): Data refer to 1997. Country: Ukraine From 2014 data cover the territories under the government control. Country: Ukraine Change in definition (2006 onwards): Age group 15-19 refers to 18-19. Age group 65+ refers to 70+. Country: Ukraine Territorial change (2006 onwards): The territorial sample exclude localities in the territory which was radioactively contaminated by the Chernobyl disaster . Country: United Kingdom Change in definition (1995 - onwards): Data collected from 16 years of age rather than 15. Country: United Kingdom Territorial change (1995 - onwards): Data cover England only. Country: United States For 1980 and 1990 data refer to 1976-1980 and 1988-1994 respectively. Since 2000, data for the reference year refer to the range of this year and the previous one.