Obesity
Age differences
The likelihood of obesity increases with age, peaking between the ages of 45 and 64.
35.9 percent of those aged 55 to 64 in 2006/07 were obese, which is more than double the rate found among young people aged 15 to 24 (14.2 percent).
| Age group % |
|||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (95% CI) | |||||||||
| 5-9 | 10-14 | 15-24 | 25-34 | 35-44 | 45-54 | 55-64 | 65-74 | 75+ | |
| 1997 | - | - | 11.2 | 16.0 | 19.7 | 27.8 | 25.2 | 18.6 | 12.7 |
| - | - | (8.2 - 14.3) | (12.9 - 19.2) | (16.3 - 23.2) | (23.5 - 32.1) | (20.6 - 29.8) | (14.3 - 22.9) | (7.4 - 17.9) | |
| 2002/03 | 7.9 | 10.1 | 14.4 | 23.0 | 26.2 | 29.2 | 34.8 | 29.1 | 20.9 |
| (6.3 - 9.6) | (8.2 - 12.0) | (11.9 - 16.9) | (20.6 - 25.4) | (23.5 - 28.8) | (26.3 - 32.1) | (31.7 - 37.8) | (25.6 - 32.7) | (17.6 - 24.2) | |
| 2006/07 | 8.2 | 8.5 | 14.2 | 24.4 | 28.4 | 30.5 | 35.9 | 32.8 | 20.8 |
| (6.7 - 9.7) | (7.1 - 9.8) | (12.3 - 16.1) | (22.0 - 26.8) | (26.3 - 30.5) | (28.0 - 33.0) | (33.1 - 38.6) | (29.8 - 35.9) | (18.0 - 23.7) | |
Source: New Zealand Health Survey (crude rates).
Note: “95%CI” (95 percent confidence interval) signifies that there is a 95 percent chance that the true value falls within this range. If the respective confidence intervals (in brackets) do not overlap, the difference between rates is likely to be statistically significant.
