People from an ethnic minority background are more likely to be overweight than the native Dutch, according to research by the government’s social policy unit SCP.

Some 55% of Turks, 51% of Moroccans and 50% of Antillians are overweight compared with 45% of the native Dutch and people from Suriname.
Older immigrants are more likely to be overweight. Some 83% of Turks aged over 55 are too heavy, compared with 60% of the native Dutch.
‘However, people from ethnic minorities who speak the language well and have lots of contact with the native Dutch are thinner than those who do not speak Dutch and move in limited social circles,’SCP researcher Jaco Dagevos tells Trouw.
Dagevos said the reasons for the weight difference could be cultural or due to the fact that older immigrants are more likely to have psychiatric problems, be unemployed and nostalgic for their country of origin.