Obesity is on the rise and diets getting worse. New Nordic data reveals worrying trends
Nordic Monitoring (NORMO 2025) is a status report on Nordic behaviour and health. Its findings are worrying: 56% of Nordic adults and one in five children are overweight or obese.
“The Nordic population is becoming sedentary and overweight. We spend far too much time in front of screens while eating unhealthy and unsustainable food,” says Karen Ellemann, Secretary General of the Nordic Council of Ministers.
We are eating less fruit, vegetables and whole grains and more foods with a high sugar content.
The report highlights several common trends across all of the Nordic countries. We are eating less fruit, vegetables and whole grains and more foods with a high sugar content. Sales of energy drinks, which can lead to sleep disorders, mental health problems and difficulty concentrating, have doubled in the last decade.
Social inequality continues to be reflected closely in our behaviour. In all of the Nordic countries, groups with lower levels of education report poorer diets and higher levels of overweight and obesity. Sisse Fagt, Senior Advisor at the DTU National Food Institute, was in charge of the work on NORMO 2025.
“It is serious that we are seeing a trend towards poorer diets and greater obesity. I hope NORMO 2025 will highlight areas where decision makers should act,” says Fagt about the latest results of NORMO 2025.
I hope NORMO 2025 will highlight areas where decision makers should act.
Nordic efforts to initiate change
Several Nordic Council of Ministers’ initiatives seek to reverse this trend. NORMO 2025 is part of the follow-up to the Nordic Nutrition Recommendations 2023 (NNR2023), a flagship Nordic project that forms the basis for the Nordic and Baltic countries’ national guidelines and dietary recommendations. In 2026, a major effort will also be launched to cut young people’s consumption of caffeinated drinks.
“The ministers have set clear objectives for the health and food sectors to help improve public health in the Nordic Region and make food consumption healthy and sustainable,” says Karen Ellemann.
Key findings from the report
- We are eating less fruit, vegetables and whole grains and more foods with a high sugar content.
- 56% of Nordic adults and 1 in 5 children are overweight or obese – an increase since 2014.
- Consumption of energy drinks has more than doubled in the past decade, with the biggest increase among young adults.
- Alcohol consumption and the use of tobacco and nicotine products are stable but still high.
- Up to a third of Nordic adults do not meet the recommendations for physical activity.
- Social inequalities are evident: People with lower levels of education report poorer diets, higher prevalence of overweight and obesity, and higher nicotine and alcohol consumption compared to those with higher levels.
