More and more Danes are eating unhealthily – and there are large regional and social differences
An increasing number of people eat too little fruit, vegetables and fish and too much saturated fat. Now one in five Danes eats unhealthily. At the same time, there are significant geographical and social disparities in unhealthy eating habits, according to new figures.
Over the past 15 years, the proportion of Danes with a low dietary quality score on the diet scale has moved in only one direction – and that is upwards. In 2010, 13.3 percent had a low score on the diet scale. Today, it is 18.4 percent.
The figures are based on responses from 135,293 Danes aged 16 or older who participated in the survey The National Health Profile 2025 and, among other things, answered questions about their diet and how much fish, vegetables, fruit and unsaturated fat they consume in their daily lives.
A low dietary quality score is defined in the survey as a low intake of fruit, vegetables and fish and too much saturated fat.
Senior researcher and research leader Anne Illemann Christensen from the National Institute of Public Health is concerned about the development.
“We know that an unhealthy diet is associated with an increased risk of several diseases such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, certain cancers, overweight and severe obesity. Therefore, it is alarming that the trend continues to move in the wrong direction and that now one in five Danes eats unhealthily in everyday life,” she says.
North Denmark Region has the highest proportion
Looking at the map of Denmark, it is especially in the North Denmark Region that the trend is moving in the wrong direction. Here, 22.5 percent have a low score on the diet scale. At the other end is the Capital Region, where 14 percent have a low score on the diet scale.
Socioeconomic background is crucial
Inequality in dietary habits is also seen in level of education and labor market attachment. People with lower levels of education as well as the unemployed, disability pensioners and others outside the labor market more often have a low dietary quality score.
For example, almost one in three people (30 percent) with primary school as their highest completed education have a low dietary quality score. By comparison, this applies to 7.7 percent among people with a long higher education.
At the same time, around one in three disability pensioners have a low score on the diet scale, while this applies to just under one in four among people outside the labor market. Among people in employment, the proportion is significantly lower – around 17 percent.
Willingness to change behavior
The survey also shows that there is a strong interest in changing behavior in the population. Among people who have a low dietary quality score, 60.7 percent state that they would like to eat more healthily. It is especially women, 69.2 percent, who want to eat healthier – compared to 54.9 percent among men.
Many have also spoken with their doctor about their dietary habits. The survey shows that among people who have visited their general practitioner within the past 12 months, 17.6 percent of men and 15.4 percent of women state that they have received advice on changing dietary habits.
However, even though many Danes want to eat more healthily and seek help from their doctor, this is not always enough to change habits. According to Anne Illemann Christensen, it often requires more than individual motivation.
“It can be difficult to change dietary habits on one’s own. It requires time, energy and knowledge – resources that are not equally distributed in the population. Therefore, structural prevention, such as price regulation or restrictions on the marketing of unhealthy foods, may be necessary both to improve public health and reduce social inequality,” she says.
One of the largest health surveys
The National Health Profile is a collaboration between the five regions, the Danish Health Authority and the National Institute of Public Health and is one of the most comprehensive mappings of the health and well-being of Danes. It provides a detailed picture of how health develops over time – and how it is distributed across the population.
Find more information about how things look in your specific region or municipality in the database danskernessundhed.dk, including other measures of health, well-being, health behavior and morbidity. Here, you can also follow developments since 2010.
The database has just been updated with the latest figures from The National Health Profile 2025.
Contact: Research leader and senior researcher Anne Illemann Christensen, tel.: 6550 773, e-mail: anch@sdu.dk, National Institute of Public Health, SDU