11 December 2019
Statistics Jersey has issued two new reports related to obesity.
The Obesity, Diet and Physical Activity Profile, 2019 includes data from a number of different sources. It reports the proportion of Jersey residents classed as healthy weight, overweight and obese, and includes information on two drivers of obesity: diet and physical activity. Key points include...
- based on body mass index (BMI) and waist measurement results from the 2019 Jersey Opinions and Lifestyle Survey (JOLS)…
- almost one in six (17%) of the Jersey adult population were classed as obese (had a BMI of 30 or more); this has remained reasonably similar since 2008
- a similar proportion of adult males and females were classified as obese; however, 39% of males were classified as overweight (had a BMI between 25 and 30) compared to 27% of females, but…
- …three-quarters (74%) of males had an ideal waist measurement compared to half (48%) of females
- the proportion of adults classified as overweight or obese increased with age. Two-fifths of 16-34 year olds were classed as such, compared to almost three-fifths of people aged 45 and above
- the 2018/19 Jersey Child Measurement Programme recorded 9% of Reception and 17% of Year 6 children as obese
- according to JOLS 2019, a third (35%) of adults ate five or more portions of fruit or vegetables the previous day; this has remained fairly constant over the last 10 years
a quarter (23%) of adults aged 16-34 years ate 5 portions of fruit or vegetables the previous day, compared to two-fifths (44%) of those aged 65 years or older - in 2018, 30% of Year 6 schoolchildren ate 5 or portions of fruit or vegetables the previous day compared to 25% of Year 8 and 20% of Year 10 children
- over three-quarters (78%) of Jersey adults described themselves as very active or fairly active in the 2019 JOLS, but…
- …only half (51%) of all adults met the NHS guidelines of at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week
- in 2018, a quarter of Year 6 children (27% of males, 23% of females) met the NHS recommended guidelines of being physically active for at least an hour per day on every day of the previous week. This compares to 19% of Year 10 males and 12% of Year 10 females
- in 2018, over two-fifths (46%) of Year 6 males and one-third (33%) of Year 6 females had spent 3 hours or more on electronic ‘screens’ the previous day. Around three-quarters of Year 10 males (77%) and Year 10 females (72%) had spent 3 hours or more on ‘screens’ the previous day
Obesity, Diet and Physical Activity Profile 2019
The Jersey Child Measurement Programme 2018/19 report presents height and weight information of schoolchildren in Reception (4 – 5 year olds) and Year 6 (10 - 11 year olds) . The total number of children measured in 2018/19 was 2,079 (97% of all eligible children).
- two in ten children in Reception (21%), and around three in ten children in Year 6 (30%) were overweight or obese
- the proportion of children categorised as overweight or obese in Reception were similar for females and males, but for those in Year 6, the prevalence of obesity was slightly higher for males (21%) than for females (14%)
Jersey Child Measurement Programme 2018/2019
gov.je