Among the lowest educated people in our country — those who have completed only primary education — as many as 65% are moderately or severely overweight. Among the highest educated, this is 35%. The difference is even greater when it comes to obesity. Of people aged 25 and older who have completed at most primary education, one quarter are obese. Among those with a university education, it is only 6%.
Age also plays a role in the prevalence of overweight. As people age, the number of overweight cases increases. Among young people (ages 4 to 20), 12% are overweight. From age 20 onwards, the proportion of overweight individuals rises; 6 out of 10 people aged 50 or older are overweight. Less than 5% of 4- to 20-year-olds are obese, while among those over 40, this figure is about 17%. In this study, respondents reported their own weight and height.
Since the 1980s, the number of Dutch adults (aged 20 and over) with obesity has more than doubled. In the past ten years, this trend seems to be slowing. In 2015, the number of Dutch people with overweight and obesity was the same as in 2014.
Whether a low level of education increases the risk of overweight or obesity, whether being overweight influences educational attainment, or whether both are the result of other factors, cannot be determined based on this study. It is possible that all three are true. Older people are also more likely to be overweight and more likely to have a lower level of education. As a result, there is a relatively higher proportion of older individuals among the lower educated. However, even when accounting for this age difference, lower-educated people are still more likely to be overweight than higher-educated people.
This data comes from the 2015 Lifestyle Monitor, a collaboration between CBS, RIVM, Voedingscentrum, and Pharos Expertise Centre for Health Inequalities.