Why So Many People Are Overweight and Obese Today—A Finnish Perspective

An increasingly obese population has spread worldwide. But what causes so many people to be overweight or obese? Obesity is also one of the most significant public health problems in Finland, as the obesity rate in Finland has increased over the past two decades and is now much higher than the EU av...

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Main Author: Maria Hofman-Bergholm
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-04-01
Series:Obesities
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4168/5/2/23
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author Maria Hofman-Bergholm
author_facet Maria Hofman-Bergholm
author_sort Maria Hofman-Bergholm
collection DOAJ
description An increasingly obese population has spread worldwide. But what causes so many people to be overweight or obese? Obesity is also one of the most significant public health problems in Finland, as the obesity rate in Finland has increased over the past two decades and is now much higher than the EU average, with every second Finn classified as at least overweight. Finland will be used as a case study, as we have been monitoring the fitness and body weight of Finnish recruits annually since the 1970s and therefore have comprehensive reliable data to use for the period. This article will review existing reports in the fields of obesity and societal development focusing on the Nordic countries. As far as possible, different social phenomena will be discussed in separate sections to try to find out if there is something in societal development that could be a major cause of this obesity epidemic. This article will also give some suggestions on what could be done in the future to slow down the negative trend.
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spelling doaj-art-e30e5b51897d49a88951724a04a813ce2025-08-20T03:27:25ZengMDPI AGObesities2673-41682025-04-01522310.3390/obesities5020023Why So Many People Are Overweight and Obese Today—A Finnish PerspectiveMaria Hofman-Bergholm0Research and Development, Entrepreneurship and Wellbeing, Centria University of Applied Sciences, 67100 Kokkola, FinlandAn increasingly obese population has spread worldwide. But what causes so many people to be overweight or obese? Obesity is also one of the most significant public health problems in Finland, as the obesity rate in Finland has increased over the past two decades and is now much higher than the EU average, with every second Finn classified as at least overweight. Finland will be used as a case study, as we have been monitoring the fitness and body weight of Finnish recruits annually since the 1970s and therefore have comprehensive reliable data to use for the period. This article will review existing reports in the fields of obesity and societal development focusing on the Nordic countries. As far as possible, different social phenomena will be discussed in separate sections to try to find out if there is something in societal development that could be a major cause of this obesity epidemic. This article will also give some suggestions on what could be done in the future to slow down the negative trend.https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4168/5/2/23obesityconsumptionphysical activityeducation
spellingShingle Maria Hofman-Bergholm
Why So Many People Are Overweight and Obese Today—A Finnish Perspective
Obesities
obesity
consumption
physical activity
education
title Why So Many People Are Overweight and Obese Today—A Finnish Perspective
title_full Why So Many People Are Overweight and Obese Today—A Finnish Perspective
title_fullStr Why So Many People Are Overweight and Obese Today—A Finnish Perspective
title_full_unstemmed Why So Many People Are Overweight and Obese Today—A Finnish Perspective
title_short Why So Many People Are Overweight and Obese Today—A Finnish Perspective
title_sort why so many people are overweight and obese today a finnish perspective
topic obesity
consumption
physical activity
education
url https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4168/5/2/23
work_keys_str_mv AT mariahofmanbergholm whysomanypeopleareoverweightandobesetodayafinnishperspective