New Zealand children who are classed as obese
Based on IOTF cut-offs, by health district, July 2022 to June 2025, % of children aged 2-14
| Health district | % of children aged 2-14 |
|---|---|
| Auckland | 0.114% |
| Bay of Plenty | 0.091% |
| Canterbury | 0.069% |
| Capital & Coast | 0.103% |
| Counties Manukau | 0.229% |
| Hawke's Bay | 0.139% |
| Hutt Valley | 0.104% |
| Lakes | 0.168% |
| MidCentral | 0.138% |
| Northland | 0.18% |
| South Canterbury | 0.135% |
| Southern | 0.129% |
| Tairāwhiti | 0.203% |
| Taranaki | 0.128% |
| Waikato | 0.119% |
| Waitematā | 0.097% |
| Whanganui | 0.15% |
Definitions
IOTF cut-offs: The International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) body mass index (BMI) cut-offs are sex- and age-specific thresholds used to assess thinness, overweight, and obesity in children and adolescents.
Unadjusted results: reflect the actual percentage (or mean) for the specified population in each time period. It is important to note that differences in the population structure may explain some of the variations between health districts.
Data calculation/treatment
All results presented in this data are weighted so that they are representative of the total population of children under the age of 15.
The dataset includes unadjusted prevalence figures for most indicators, estimated number of people, and 95% confidence intervals.
Indicators are provided by age group, gender, ethnic group (total response ethnicity, ie where people who belong to more than one ethnic group are counted once in each of the ethnic groups they identify with) and neighbourhood deprivation (area-based measure of socioeconomic position or deprivation).
Sample sizes for small regions are not sufficient to produce reliable estimates for single years. However, reliable regional level statistics can be produced by pooling annual data to improve the range and statistical quality of analyses that can be undertaken at that level. Pooling annual NZHS data sets can also improve the statistical precision of estimates for Māori and ethnic minorities (including Pacific and Asian ethnic groups).
Limitations of the data
Values with high error margins are not shown in the chart(s) above.
Exclusions
Not included in the survey were: people living in institutions (such as for long-term hospital care, hospital- and dementia-level care in aged-care facilities, and in prisons), the homeless, short-term visitors and tourists.
Data provided by
Dataset name
New Zealand Health Survey: Regional Data Release - Children - Body size includes obesity 2026
Webpage:
https://www.health.govt.nz/publications/regional-data-release-new-zealand-health-survey
How to find the data
At URL provided, select 'Child statistics' zip file, under the 'Statistics (crude/unadjusted)' heading.
Extract the 'topic_body_size_includes_obesity.csv' from the zip file.
Import & extraction details
File as imported: New Zealand Health Survey: Regional Data Release - Children - Body size includes obesity 2026
From the dataset New Zealand Health Survey: Regional Data Release - Children - Body size includes obesity 2026, this data was extracted:
- Rows: 2-156,181
- Columns: 11-13
- Provided: 32,571 data points
This data forms the table Health - Body size (includes obesity) of children by health district 2013–2025.
Dataset originally released on:
April 16, 2026
About this dataset
The New Zealand Health Survey (Health Survey) provides information about the health and wellbeing of adults and children in New Zealand. This dataset presents key health indicators from all years of the continuous Health Survey, using a three-year rolling average. Statistics are updated annually to reflect the latest survey data.