Belgium links more than 9,500 deaths to a high BMI
New calculations by Sciensano underline the scale of excess weight and obesity as a public-health problem.
An estimated 9,509 deaths in Belgium in 2022 were related to high body weight. Sciensano and the Belgian health authorities are therefore calling for greater attention to prevention, while the figures do not establish individual causes of death.
The calculation appears on Belgium’s health portal and is based on data from Sciensano, Statbel and the international Global Burden of Disease study. It concerns what is known as an attributable disease burden: researchers estimate what proportion of deaths is statistically associated with a high BMI.
According to the calculation, the 9,509 deaths accounted for 8.2 per cent of all deaths in Belgium in 2022. The researchers say this represents more than 150,000 years of life lost. The figure does not mean that ‘high BMI’ literally appears as the direct cause on individual death certificates.
The main disease groups mentioned in the analysis are cardiovascular disease, dementia, chronic kidney disease and certain forms of cancer. The effect increases with age. The estimate concerns population-level risks and cannot be used to draw conclusions about the health or treatment of an individual.
According to Belgian figures, 49 per cent of the population aged three and over was overweight, including 18 per cent with obesity. The proportion varies by region. Wallonia had the highest mortality rate attributable to a high BMI according to the health calculations; Flanders had the lowest.
Sciensano points to prevention from a young age, with attention to diet, physical activity and the environment in which people make choices. The appeal is directed at policy and public health, not individual blame. Health behaviour is also influenced by income, living environment, work and access to care.
For Dutch readers, the Belgian report is relevant because it shows how excess weight in neighbouring countries is converted into a measure of societal disease burden. The figures also illustrate the difference between measured health data and model-based estimates: the outcome depends on the risks, definitions and reference values chosen.
One story, several perspectives
What is established
- Belgian health authorities estimate that high BMI was associated with 9,509 deaths in 2022.
- The estimate is based on population data and risk models.
- Sciensano is calling for more prevention.
- Prevalence and mortality differ by region.
Left
Arguments From this perspective, prevention should primarily change the environment: healthier food, affordable opportunities for physical activity and fewer health inequalities linked to income and living conditions.
Values Equality, public responsibility and social protection.
Consequences Structural policies could reduce the disease burden, but require long-term public investment and could lead to stricter rules on food marketing.
Centre
Arguments The government should support proven prevention measures, but communicate carefully to avoid stigmatisation and overestimating modelled figures.
Values Evidence-based policy, proportionality and individual dignity.
Consequences A combination of information, better data and targeted programmes could be effective without absolutising any single cause or solution.
Right
Arguments From this perspective, individuals and families bear primary responsibility for lifestyle choices; government policy should mainly provide information while preserving freedom of choice.
Values Personal responsibility, freedom and a restrained government.
Consequences Less regulation limits paternalism, but may underestimate the influence of income, marketing and the living environment on health choices.
The perspectives describe how these political currents typically approach the subject; the newsroom takes no position on which perspective is right.
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This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The figures and methodological limitations are based on Belgian health sources. The article makes clear that this is a statistical attribution, not a direct individual cause of death.
- confirmed In Belgium, 9,509 deaths in 2022 were related to a high BMI. — This is the key figure from the Belgian health portal. source
- confirmed These deaths accounted for 8.2 per cent of all deaths. — The same source gives this proportion. source
- confirmed 49 per cent of the Belgian population aged three and over was overweight, of whom 18 per cent had obesity. — Sciensano publishes these population figures. source
- confirmed Wallonia had the highest regional mortality rate attributed to a high BMI. — This appears in the regional breakdown on the Belgian health portal. source
Editor's note
The figures are estimates for 2022, not counts of individual causes of death. The text makes this distinction explicit and provides no medical advice.Sources
- Burden of high BMI — For a Healthy Belgium
- Obesitas — Sciensano
- High BMI linked to more than 9,500 deaths in Belgium — The Brussels Times
More on this in Dutch media
- Het Parool — „belgië sciensano”
- Trouw — „belgië sciensano”
- NRC — „belgië sciensano”