Scottish Health Survey 2018: summary report

Chapter 7 Obesity

In 2018, two thirds (65%) of adults were overweight, including…

28% who were obese, with both these trends remaining stable since 2008.

There has been a small upward trend in mean BMI among adults over time, rising from 27.1 kg/m2 in 2003 to 27.7 kg/m2 in 2018, with no significant difference between the mean BMI of men and women.

33% of adults were a healthy weight (a BMI of 18.5 to less than 25 kg/m²).

BMI increased significantly with age for both men and women.

A greater proportion of men were overweight or obese than women.

• 68% Men
• 63% Women

A greater proportion of women than men were in the healthy weight category.

• 30% Men
• 35% Women

Mental wellbeing (measured by WEMWBS mean score) was lowest among those within the morbidly obese BMI range.

Prevalence of children at risk of obesity has remained relatively stable in 2018 at 16%.

The proportion of children at risk of obesity significantly increased with age, from 11% of those aged 2-6 to 21% of those aged 12-15. These proportions were the same for both boys and girls.

70% of children (aged 2-15) were of healthy weight.

The proportion of children in the healthy weight range decreased by age; this pattern was more pronounced for girls.