The prevalence of overweight and obesity in 380 counties in Poland: A retrospective analysis of the National Health Fund dataset

Mateusz Jankowski

doi:10.21697/ejhp.0707.03

Published: 2025-12-09

Vol. 5 No. 2 (2025)

The prevalence of overweight and obesity in 380 counties in Poland: A retrospective analysis of the National Health Fund dataset

Mateusz Jankowski

European Journal of Health Policy, Humanization of Care and Medical Ethics

Section: Articles

https://doi.org/10.21697/ejhp.0707.03

Abstract

Excess body weight is an emerging public health problem. This study assesses the prevalence of overweight and obesity in 380 counties in Poland using the official, population-based data. This study is a retrospective analysis of the dataset published on October 1, 2025 by the National Health Fund within the project called “Healthy Data.” Since March 2025, primary care providers (family
doctors) in Poland have been obligated to report patients’ height and weight during the first visit in a given year. The following BMI categories were defined: underweight (BMI < 18.5), normal weight (BMI 18.5–25.0), overweight (BMI 25–30.0), and obesity (BMI ≥ 30). Data on 13,402,601 adult individuals were included in the analysis. The overall prevalence of overweight was 37.7% and the prevalence of obesity was 26.8%. In total, 8,646,885 individuals (64.5% of the total population) had excess body weight. In 67.6% of all 380 counties in Poland, the prevalence of excess body weight (BMI ≥ 25) was between 65% and 70% of the county’s population. The highest prevalence of excess body weight (overweight or obesity) was in Łosicki County (72.4%), and the lowest in Poznań County (55.8%). The findings from this study revealed health disparities related to the prevalence of overweight and obesity in Poland, with the highest prevalence being in northeastern Poland and the lowest in large cities.

Keywords:

overweight, obesity, epidemiology, prevalence, Poland

Download files

pdf

Cited by / Share

Licence

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

References

Ahmed, S.K. & Mohammed, R.A. (2025). Obesity: Prevalence, Causes, Consequences, Management, Preventive Strategies and Future Research Directions. Metabol Open, 27, 100375. DOI: 10.1016/j.metop.2025.100375 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.metop.2025.100375
Google Scholar

Anderson, L.N., Yoshida-Montezuma, Y., Dewart, N., Jalil, E., Khattar, J., De Rubeis, V., Carsley, S., Griffith, L.E., & Mbuagbaw, L. (2023). Obesity and Weight Change During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Children and Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Obesity Reviews, 24(5), e13550. DOI: 10.1111/obr.13550 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/obr.13550
Google Scholar

Ansari, S., Haboubi, H., & Haboubi, N. (2020). Adult Obesity Complications: Challenges and Clinical Impact. Therapeutic Advances in Endocrinology and Metabolism, 11, 2042018820934955. DOI:10.1177/2042018820934955 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/2042018820934955
Google Scholar

Augustynowicz, A., Czerw, A., Borowska, M., Deptała, A., Dykowska, G., & Fronczak, A. (2019). Prevention of Overweight and Obesity Undertaken by Local Government Units in Poland. Health Policy, 123(5), 499–502. DOI: 10.1016/j.healthpol.2019.03.006 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthpol.2019.03.006
Google Scholar

Blüher, M. (2025). An Overview of Obesity-Related Complications: The Epidemiological Evidence Linking Body Weight and Other Markers of Obesity to Adverse Health Outcomes. Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, 27(Suppl 2), 3–19. DOI: 10.1111/dom.16263 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dom.16263
Google Scholar

Elmaleh-Sachs, A., Schwartz, J.L., Bramante, C.T., Nicklas, J.M., Gudzune, K.A., & Jay, M. (2023). Obesity Management in Adults: A Review. JAMA, 330(20), 2000–2015. DOI: 10.1001/jama.2023.19897 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2023.19897
Google Scholar

GBD 2021 Adult BMI Collaborators. (2025). Global, Regional, and National Prevalence of Adult Overweight and Obesity, 1990–2021, With Forecasts to 2050: A F orecasting Study for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021. The Lancet, 405(10481), 813–838. DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(25)00355-1 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(25)00355-1
Google Scholar

National Health Fund [NFZ ]. (2025). Numbers of BMI Categories in Poland. Retrieved October 8, 2025 from https://ezdrowie.gov.pl/portal/home/badania-i-dane/zdrowe-dane/zestawienia/bmi-2025
Google Scholar

Nour, T.Y. & Altintaş, K.H. (2023). Effect of the coVID -19 Pandemic on obesity and Its Risk Factors: A Systematic Review. BMC Public Health, 23(1), 1018. DOI: 10.1186/s12889-023-15833-2 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-023-15833-2
Google Scholar

Nuttall, F.Q. (2015). Body Mass Index: Obesity, BMI, and Health: A Critical Review. Nutrition Today, 50(3), 117–128. DOI: 10.1097/NT.0000000000000092 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/NT.0000000000000092
Google Scholar

Sękowski, K., Mazurek, A., Grześczyk-Nojszewska, Z., Jankowski, M., Kamińska, A., Olearczyk, A., Silczuk, a., & Grudziąż-Sękowska, J. (2025). Public Awareness of obesity Causes, Complications, and Treatment Methods in a Representative Sample of Adults in Poland. Frontiers in Public Health, 13,1656877. DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1656877 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1656877
Google Scholar

Stival, C., Lugo, A., Odone, A., van den Brandt, P.A., Fernandez, E., Tigova, O., Soriano, J.B., José López, M., Scaglioni, S., & Gallus, S., TackSHS Project Investigators. (2022). Prevalence and Correlates of Overweight and Obesity in 12 European Countries in 2017–2018. Obesity Facts, 15(5), 655–665. DOI: 10.1159/000525792 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1159/000525792
Google Scholar

Stoś, K., Rychlik, E., Woźniak, A., Ołtarzewski, M., Jankowski, M., Gujski, M., & Juszczyk, G. (2022). Prevalence and Sociodemographic Factors Associated with Overweight and Obesity Among Adults in Poland: A 2019/2020 Nationwide Cross-Sectional Survey. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(3), 1502. DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19031502 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19031502
Google Scholar

Washington, T.B., Johnson, V.R., Kendrick, K., Ibrahim, A.A., Tu, L., Sun, K., & Stanford, F.C. (2023). Disparities in Access and Quality of Obesity Care. Gastroenterology Clinics of North America, 52(2), 429–441. DOI: 10.1016/j.gtc.2023.02.003 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gtc.2023.02.003
Google Scholar

Williams, M.S., McKinney, S.J., & Cheskin, L.J. (2024). Social and Structural Determinants of Health and Social Injustices Contributing to Obesity Disparities. Current Obesity Reports, 13(3), 617–625. DOI:10.1007/s13679-024-00578-9 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13679-024-00578-9
Google Scholar