Weight of the Nation Report

Key Findings

Adults

» Average BMI has risen steadily and significantly over the 23-year period.

» The average BMI for the adult population has been in the overweight range since records began but is now heading towards the obese category.

» The proportion of adults in the heaviest BMI category has been increasing.

» By 2018 almost two-thirds of adults were within overweight or obese classifications.

» The average BMI of young adults (16-24) has increased the most out of all age groups since 1995.

» Average BMI is patterned by level of deprivation with those from the most deprived areas consistently showing higher BMIs compared to the least deprived.

» Between 1995 and 2018 there was a significant increase in average waist circumference for both men and women.

» Over time there has been a significant rise in the proportion of women in the raised waist  category. Whilst men have seen an increase in the proportion in the raised waist category it is not as stark as the pattern for women.

Children

» There have been fluctuations in rates of childhood obesity over the years and no clear pattern is emerging.

» Over half (58%) of the children with obesity are children with severe obesity.

» As with adults, children from the most deprived areas are more overweight and obese than children from the least deprived areas.

Please note: Throughout the report we use the terminology morbid obesity/morbidly obese as that is the terminology used within the Scottish Healthy Survey and we wished to reference the original data correctly. These descriptions are not our preferred terminology and we have encouraged the use of non-stigmatising language in future Scottish Health Surveys.