Belgium: BMI of adult population, by education 1997-2018

According to the World Health Organization, a BMI (Body Mass Index) between 25 and 29.9 represents a nutritional status of pre-obesity. In 2018, the average BMI of Belgians fell into the pre-obese group. However, the higher the education, the lower the BMI. Indeed, the body mass index seemed to be correlated with the educational level of the population.

In 2018, whilst the average BMI of Belgians with higher education was 24.7, the BMI of Belgians with primary education reached 26.7. This index is helpful to identify people at risk of certain health conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and premature death.

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

Characteristic	BMI of respondents	BMI of population**
Higher education	24.7	24.7
Upper sedondary education	25.8	25.9
Lower secondary education	26.7	26.6
Primary education	26.8	26.7

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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 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 educational level to another as follows:

Primary education: 705 respondents
Lower secondary education: 1,258 respondents
Upper secondary education: 2,846 respondents
Higher education: 4,616 respondents

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