Greenland
High income
- Overview
- Obesity prevalence
- Population breakdowns
- Drivers
- Comorbidities
- Policies
- Contextual factors
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Obesity prevalence
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The report card collates all the most-recent graphics for this country. If you would like to produce a custom report based on selected graphics, just tap the Add to custom PDF button below the graphics you would like to use.Population breakdowns
Drivers
Comorbidities
Contextual factors
Obesity prevalence
Adults, 2018
| Survey type: | Measured |
| Age: | 15-94 |
| Sample size: | 2539 |
| Area covered: | National |
| References: | Larsen CVL, Hansen CD, Igemann C et al. Befolkningsundersøgelsen i Grønland 2018. – Levevilkår, livsstil og helbred. Oversigt over indikatorer for folkesundheden. Statens Institute for Folkesundhed |
| Notes: | NB. Total adults taken as an average of male & female. Worldbank unable to provide male/female ratio for Greenland 50% therefore assumed. |
| Unless otherwise noted, overweight refers to a BMI between 25kg and 29.9kg/m², obesity refers to a BMI greater than 30kg/m². | |
Adults, 2005-2010
| Survey type: | Measured |
| Age: | 18+ |
| Sample size: | 2757 |
| Area covered: | National |
| References: | Bjerregaard, P., Jørgensen, M. E. and The Greenland Population Study Group (2013), Prevalence of obesity among Inuit in Greenland and temporal trend by social position. Am. J. Hum. Biol., 25: 335–340. doi: 10.1002/ajhb.22372 |
| Unless otherwise noted, overweight refers to a BMI between 25kg and 29.9kg/m², obesity refers to a BMI greater than 30kg/m². | |
Children, 2011
| Survey type: | Measured |
| Age: | 6 |
| Sample size: | 842 |
| Area covered: | National |
| References: | Rex KF, Larsen NH, Rex H, Niclasen B, Pedersen ML.A national study on weight classes among children in Greenland at school entry.nt J Circumpolar Health. 2014 Oct 20;73. doi: 10.3402/ijch.v73.25537. eCollection 2014. |
| Cutoffs: | IOTF |
Overweight/obesity by age
Adults, 2014
| Survey type: | Measured |
| Sample size: | 2102 |
| Area covered: | National |
| References: | Dahl-Petersen IK, Larsen CVL, Nielsen NO, Jørgensen ME, Bjerregaard P. Befolkningsundersøgelsen i Grønland 2014. Levevilkår, livsstil og helbred. København og Nuuk [Population health survey in Greenland 2014—living conditions, life style and health. In Danish and Greenlandic]. Copenhagen and Nuuk: National Institute of Public Health and Government of Greenland; 2016. |
| Unless otherwise noted, overweight refers to a BMI between 25kg and 29.9kg/m², obesity refers to a BMI greater than 30kg/m². | |
Overweight/obesity by socio-economic group
Men, 2005-2010
| Survey type: | Measured |
| Age: | 18+ |
| Sample size: | 2757 |
| Area covered: | National |
| References: | Bjerregaard, P., Jørgensen, M. E. and The Greenland Population Study Group (2013), Prevalence of obesity among Inuit in Greenland and temporal trend by social position. Am. J. Hum. Biol., 25: 335–340. doi: 10.1002/ajhb.22372 |
| Notes: | Social position was scored from information about education, housing density and ownership of specified household items. |
| Unless otherwise noted, overweight refers to a BMI between 25kg and 29.9kg/m², obesity refers to a BMI greater than 30kg/m². | |
Women, 2005-2010
| Survey type: | Measured |
| Age: | 18+ |
| Sample size: | 2757 |
| Area covered: | National |
| References: | Bjerregaard, P., Jørgensen, M. E. and The Greenland Population Study Group (2013), Prevalence of obesity among Inuit in Greenland and temporal trend by social position. Am. J. Hum. Biol., 25: 335–340. doi: 10.1002/ajhb.22372 |
| Notes: | Social position was scored from information about education, housing density and ownership of specified household items. |
| Unless otherwise noted, overweight refers to a BMI between 25kg and 29.9kg/m², obesity refers to a BMI greater than 30kg/m². | |
Double burden of underweight & overweight
Adults, 2022
| Survey type: | Measured |
| Age: | 20+ |
| References: | NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (NCD-RisC). Worldwide trends in underweight and obesity from 1990 to 2022: a pooled analysis of 3663 population representative studies with 222 million children, adolescents, and adults. Lancet 2024; published online Feb 29. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(23)02750-2. |
| Notes: | Age Standardised estimates |
| Definitions: | Combined prevalence of BMI<18.5 kg/m² and BMI>=30 kg/m² (double burden of underweight and obesity) |
Children, 2022
| Survey type: | Measured |
| Age: | 5-19 |
| References: | NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (NCD-RisC). Worldwide trends in underweight and obesity from 1990 to 2022: a pooled analysis of 3663 population representative studies with 222 million children, adolescents, and adults. Lancet 2024; published online Feb 29. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(23)02750-2. |
| Notes: | Age standardised estimates |
| Definitions: | Combined prevalence of BMI < -2SD and BMI > 2SD (double burden of thinness and obesity) |
| Cutoffs: | BMI < -2SD and BMI > 2SD |
Prevalence of at least daily carbonated soft drink consumption
Boys, 2021-2022
| Area covered: | National |
| References: | Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study (2023), Data browser (findings from the 2021/22 international HBSC survey): https://data-browser.hbsc.org.. Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study (2020), Data browser (findings from the 2017/18 international HBSC survey): https://data-browser.hbsc.org. |
| Definitions: | Proportion who reported drinking sugary soft drinks daily (at least once) |
Girls, 2021-2022
| Area covered: | National |
| References: | Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study (2023), Data browser (findings from the 2021/22 international HBSC survey): https://data-browser.hbsc.org.. Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study (2020), Data browser (findings from the 2017/18 international HBSC survey): https://data-browser.hbsc.org. |
| Definitions: | Proportion who reported drinking sugary soft drinks daily (at least once) |
Boys, 2017-2018
| Area covered: | National |
| References: | Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study (2023), Data browser (findings from the 2021/22 international HBSC survey): https://data-browser.hbsc.org.. Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study (2020), Data browser (findings from the 2017/18 international HBSC survey): https://data-browser.hbsc.org. |
| Definitions: | Proportion who reported drinking sugary soft drinks daily (at least once) |
Girls, 2017-2018
| Area covered: | National |
| References: | Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study (2023), Data browser (findings from the 2021/22 international HBSC survey): https://data-browser.hbsc.org.. Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study (2020), Data browser (findings from the 2017/18 international HBSC survey): https://data-browser.hbsc.org. |
| Definitions: | Proportion who reported drinking sugary soft drinks daily (at least once) |
Estimated per capita fruit intake
Adults, 2017
| Survey type: | Measured |
| Age: | 25+ |
| References: | Global Burden of Disease, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation http://ghdx.healthdata.org/ |
| Definitions: | Estimated per-capita fruit intake (g/day) |
Estimated per-capita processed meat intake
Adults, 2017
| Survey type: | Measured |
| Age: | 25+ |
| References: | Global Burden of Disease, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation http://ghdx.healthdata.org/ |
| Definitions: | Estimated per-capita processed meat intake (g per day) |
Estimated per capita whole grains intake
Adults, 2017
| Survey type: | Measured |
| Age: | 25+ |
| References: | Global Burden of Disease, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation http://ghdx.healthdata.org/ |
| Definitions: | Estimated per-capita whole grains intake (g/day) |
Diabetes prevalence
Adults, 2024
| References: | Reproduced with kind permission International Diabetes Federation. IDF Diabetes Atlas, 11th edn. Brussels, Belgium:International Diabetes Federation, 2025. http://www.diabetesatlas.org |
Adults, 2021
| Age: | 20-79 |
| Area covered: | National |
| References: | Reproduced with kind permission International Diabetes Federation. IDF Diabetes Atlas, 10th edn. Brussels, Belgium:International Diabetes Federation, 2021. http://www.diabetesatlas.org |
| Definitions: | Age-adjusted comparative prevalence of diabetes, % |
Adults, 2019
| Age: | 20-79 |
| References: | Reproduced with kind permission International Diabetes Federation. IDF Diabetes Atlas, 9th edn. Brussels,Belgium: 2019. Available at: https://www.diabetesatlas.org |
| Definitions: | Diabetes age-adjusted comparative prevalence (%). |
Policies, Interventions and Actions
Contextual factors
Disclaimer: These contextual factors should be interpreted with care. Results are updated as regularly as possible and use very specific criteria. The criteria used and full definitions are available for download at the bottom of this page.
Tap on a tick to find out more about policies influencing this factor.
Labelling
| Is there mandatory nutrition labelling? | Absent |
| Front-of-package labelling? | Absent |
| Back-of-pack nutrition declaration? | Absent |
| Color coding? | Absent |
| Warning label? | Absent |
Regulation and marketing
| Are there fiscal policies on unhealthy products? | Absent |
| Tax on unhealthy foods? | Absent |
| Tax on unhealthy drinks? | Absent |
| Are there fiscal policies on healthy products? | Absent |
| Subsidy on fruits? | Absent |
| Subsidy on vegetables? | Absent |
| Subsidy on other healthy products? | Absent |
| Mandatory limit or ban of trans fat (all settings)? | Absent |
| Mandatory limit of trans fats in place (all settings)? | Absent |
| Ban on trans-fats or phos in place (all settings)? | Absent |
| Are there any mandatory policies/marketing restrictions on the promotion of unhealthy food/drinks to children? | Absent |
| Mandatory restriction on broadcast media? | Absent |
| Mandatory restriction on non-broadcast media? | Absent |
| Voluntary policies/marketing restrictions on the promotion of unhealthy food/drinks to children? | Absent |
| Are there mandatory standards for food in schools? | Absent |
| Are there any mandatory nutrient limits in any manufactured food products? | Absent |
| Nutrition standards for public sector procurement? | Absent |
Political will and support
| National obesity strategy or nutrition and physical activity national strategy? | Absent |
| National obesity strategy? | Absent |
| National childhood obesity strategy? | Absent |
| Comprehensive nutrition strategy? | Absent |
| Comprehensive physical activity strategy? | Absent |
| Evidence-based dietary guidelines and/or RDAs? | Absent |
| National target(s) on reducing obesity? | Absent |
| Promotion of breastfeeding? | Absent |
Monitoring and surveillance
| Monitoring of the prevalence and incidence for the main obesity-related NCDs and risk factors? | Present |
| Within 5 years? | Present |
Governance and resource
| Multi-sectoral national co-ordination mechanism for obesity or nutrition (including obesity)? | Absent |
Key
Present
Present (voluntary)
Incoming
Absent
Unknown
Last updated November 27, 2022
Download contextual factors as a PDF Contextual factors definitions
