French adolescents rather in better physical health but more often overweight

Dec 19, 2019
Sébastien Bouley

In 2017, the DREES conducted a study on health and health conditions of French adolescents in the third grade.

18% of those adolescents are overweight and 5% are obese. Between 2009 and 2017, the prevalence of overweight and obesity increased, especially for girls (from 17% in 2009 to 20% in 2017). These evolutions are marked by strong social inequalities. 24% of workers’ children are overweight and 8% are obese, compared with 12% and 3% of high socio- economic background children respectively.

These discrepancies can partly be explained by different lifestyle habits depending on the social environment. Lifestyle habits beneficial to health are more often declared by adolescents from socially advantaged backgrounds: eating breakfast regularly, playing a sport, limiting the time spent in front of screens, etc.

To know more, you can consult the french DREES study report.

Orchidali can support french companies in the promotion of healthy eating and physical activity according to the french PNNS.