Obesity

Definition

The proportion of the population aged 15 to 24 who are obese.(1)

Relevance

Obesity is a risk factor for a number of diseases including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke and several common cancers.(2)  Long-term consequences of adolescent obesity may include increased morbidity in later life and reduced life expectancy.  Obese young people may also experience stigmatisation as a result of their weight.(3) 

Current level and trends

The 2006/07 New Zealand Health Survey found that 12.7 percent of young men and 15.7 percent of young women are obese, a total of 14.2 percent of young people overall.

Obesity rates among young people increased significantly between 1989 and 1997, and have continued to climb more slowly since then.(4)

Prevalence of obesity among young people aged 15 to 24, by sex, selected years 1997 to 2006/07

Prevalence of obesity among young people aged 15 to 24, by sex, selected years 1997 to 2006/07

Source: New Zealand Health Survey (age-standardised rates).

Notes

1. The New Zealand Health Survey data shown here uses BMI cut-off points development by the International Obesity Taskforce for children and young people aged under 18 years, and World Health Organisation (WHO) BMI cut-off points for those aged 18+.  The International Obesity Taskforce cut-off points have been developed to coincide with the WHO cut-off points.  For more details, see the Body Size Technical Report on the Ministry of Health website, http://www.moh.govt.nz/moh.nsf/indexmh/body-size-technical-report.

2. See the US National Cancer Institute’s factsheet “Obesity and Cancer”.

3.Dietz, W. H., and, Robinson, T.N. (2005). Clinical practice: overweight children and adolescents. New England Journal of Medicine 352 (20): 2100–9.

4. See Table 17, Statistical Annex of Tobias, M., Paul, S., and Turley, M. (2004). Tracking the Obesity Epidemic: New Zealand 1977-2003. Wellington: Ministry of Health.