Share of women defined as underweight, healthy, overweight or obese in New Zealand
New Zealand: Share of women defined as underweight, healthy, overweight or obese was 1.6% in 2014. ▼ Falling
Share of women defined as underweight, healthy, overweight or obese in New Zealand, 1975–2014
Source: NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (2017) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2014, share of women defined as underweight, healthy, overweight or obese in New Zealand stood at 1.6%. That is the lowest value across all 40 years on record.
The figure is down 5.9% on the previous year and down 20.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of women defined as underweight, healthy, overweight or obese in New Zealand peaked at 4.7% in 1975 and was at its lowest, 1.6%, in 2014.
New Zealand ranks 165th of 198 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 40 years of available data.
Share of women defined as underweight, healthy, overweight or obese in New Zealand, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | 4.7% | — |
| 1976 | 4.6% | -2.1% |
| 1977 | 4.4% | -4.3% |
| 1978 | 4.3% | -2.3% |
| 1979 | 4.1% | -4.7% |
| 1980 | 4.0% | -2.4% |
| 1981 | 3.9% | -2.5% |
| 1982 | 3.7% | -5.1% |
| 1983 | 3.6% | -2.7% |
| 1984 | 3.5% | -2.8% |
| 1985 | 3.4% | -2.9% |
| 1986 | 3.3% | -2.9% |
| 1987 | 3.2% | -3.0% |
| 1988 | 3.1% | -3.1% |
| 1989 | 3.0% | -3.2% |
| 1990 | 2.9% | -3.3% |
| 1991 | 2.8% | -3.4% |
| 1992 | 2.8% | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 2.7% | -3.6% |
| 1994 | 2.6% | -3.7% |
| 1995 | 2.5% | -3.8% |
| 1996 | 2.4% | -4.0% |
| 1997 | 2.4% | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 2.3% | -4.2% |
| 1999 | 2.2% | -4.3% |
| 2000 | 2.2% | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 2.1% | -4.5% |
| 2002 | 2.1% | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 2.0% | -4.8% |
| 2004 | 2.0% | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 1.9% | -5.0% |
| 2006 | 1.9% | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 1.9% | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 1.8% | -5.3% |
| 2009 | 1.8% | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 1.8% | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 1.7% | -5.6% |
| 2012 | 1.7% | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 1.7% | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 1.6% | -5.9% |
New Zealand compared with similar countries
- New Zealand's 1.6% is below the median for high income countries, which is 2.3%, 70% of the median. (67 countries reporting)
- New Zealand's 1.6% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 3.5%, 46% of the median. (32 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 4.4% | 4.1% | 4.7% | 5 |
| 1980s | 3.5% | 3.0% | 4.0% | 10 |
| 1990s | 2.6% | 2.2% | 2.9% | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.0% | 1.8% | 2.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.7% | 1.6% | 1.8% | 5 |
Countries ranked near New Zealand
More health data for New Zealand
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -2.94 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate -0.4815 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,116 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 33 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 0 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate -0.1187 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per capita 0.0277 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate 0.018 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of women defined as underweight, healthy, overweight or obese in New Zealand?
- Share of women defined as underweight, healthy, overweight or obese in New Zealand was 1.6% in 2014, according to NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (2017) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of women defined as underweight, healthy, overweight or obese recorded in New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 4.7% in 1975.
- What is the lowest share of women defined as underweight, healthy, overweight or obese recorded in New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.6% in 2014.
- How does New Zealand rank for share of women defined as underweight, healthy, overweight or obese?
- New Zealand ranks 165th out of 198 countries with data for 2014.
- Is share of women defined as underweight, healthy, overweight or obese rising or falling in New Zealand?
- Over the last ten years it is down 20.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this New Zealand data come from?
- The figures come from NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (2017) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of women defined as underweight, healthy, overweight or obese. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Share of women (% of adult population), who are underweight, healthy/normal, overweight or obese based on body mass index (BMI). Body Mass Index (BMI) is a person's weight divided by their height squared. The WHO define a BMI <=18.5 as underweight; 18.6 to 25.0 as normal/healthy; 25.1 to 30 as overweight; and >30.0 as obese.