Belgium: regional BMI of adult population 1997-2018

The BMI (Body Mass Index) is calculated by dividing a person's weight by the square of the person's height. In 2018, the average BMI of the population ranged from 25.3 to 25.8, depending on where the person was living in Belgium. According to the World Health Organization, such BMI levels indicate that the average Belgian falls into the "pre-obesity" group. From a regional perspective, whilst differences were rather small, the Flemish population registered lower BMI than Belgians living in the Brussels-Capital Region. However, in 2018, the highest BMI in the Belgian population was found in the Wallonia region. Such an index is useful to estimate how many people live with a bodyweight that is correlated to certain health issues.

Average Body Mass Index (BMI) of the Belgian adult population in 2018, by region

Characteristic	BMI of respondents	BMI of population**
Wallonia	25.8	25.8
Brussels-Capital	25.2	25.4
Flanders	25.3	25.3

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Release date

October 2019

More information

Region

Belgium

Survey time period

2018

Number of respondents

9,594 respondents

Age group

18 years and older

Method of interview

Face-to-face interview

Supplementary notes

The BMI of respondents is dividing the weight in kilograms by the height in meters, squared. The figures have been taken from several publications.

The results have been weighted to represent the entire population of Belgium using a logistic regression by age and/or gender.

No proof of height and weight has been requested. Therefore, the figures are based on the respondent's statement.

The number of respondents varied from one region to another as follows:

Flanders: 3,596 respondents
Wallonia: 3,531 respondents
Brussels-Capital: 2,467 respondents

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