Adult weight

This chapter reports on measurements related to obesity and the relationship between obesity, hypertension, diabetes and longstanding illness.

Highlights

26% of men and 24% of women were obese. These figures are similar to those in recent years.
41% of men and 33% of women were overweight but not obese while 67% of men and 57% of women were obese, including those who were overweight.
Levels of overweight and obesity were higher for men than women, and increased with age for both sexes, though there was a slight decrease in the oldest age groups.
Mean BMI (body mass index) was higher for men than women, and the average for both men (27.4 kg/m²) and women (26.9 kg/m²) was overweight.

Those in the lowest income households and most deprived areas were most likely to be obese. This relationship was particularly strong among women.

Obesity and a high waist circumference are both associated with other health conditions, increasing the risk of hypertension (high blood pressure), diabetes and longstanding illness.
A majority of men, 57%, and women, 67%, had a high or very high waist circumference.
Those in lower income households and living in more deprived areas were the most likely to have high waist circumference.