Almost 40 Percent of Portuguese Children Aged 5 to 14 Carry Excess Weight, and One in Eight Is Already Obese

Nearly two in five Portuguese children are now heavier than they should be, according to a new survey from the Instituto Nacional de Estatística (INE, the National Statistics Institute) that puts fresh numbers on a problem doctors have warned about for years.

Drawing on data gathered between September and December 2025 from a sample of 3,907 children, the survey found that close to 40 percent of five- to fourteen-year-olds carry excess weight. Of those, 22.6 percent — around 230,000 children — are classified as overweight, while a further 12.9 percent, roughly 132,000, meet the threshold for obesity. Put another way, about one in eight Portuguese children in that age band is already obese, not merely carrying a few extra kilos.

The burden is not spread evenly. Obesity is markedly more common among boys, at 15 percent, than girls, at 10.7 percent, and it appears early: among children aged five to nine, 18.3 percent are obese. Overweight, by contrast, is fairly even across the sexes and age groups, hovering between 22 and 23 percent.

Fast food on the daily menu

The eating patterns behind those figures are equally striking. INE reports that 44.7 percent of children aged six to fourteen regularly consume fast food, ultra-processed products or sugary drinks. Around 49,000 children reach for fast food or ultra-processed food every single day, and some 81,000 drink sugary beverages daily. Broken down, 5.3 percent consume these items every day, 7.1 percent four to six times a week, and 32.3 percent one to three times a week.

It is not all bad news at the dinner table. Just under 69 percent of children eat fruit every day, and a similar share regularly eat animal or plant-based protein. The picture is less one of universally poor diets than of a sizeable minority whose daily habits tilt heavily towards processed food and sugar.

A geography of excess weight

Where a child lives appears to matter. The highest rates of excess weight are in the Azores, at 42.3 percent, followed closely by the North (40.5 percent) and Madeira (40.3 percent). The lowest — though still high — cluster around the capital: Greater Lisbon at 31.3 percent and the Setúbal Peninsula at 31.2 percent. The roughly ten-percentage-point gap between the islands and the metropolitan south hints at differences in income, food environments and physical activity that public-health campaigns have struggled to close.

The findings land as Portugal continues to tighten the rules around children's food, from restrictions on advertising high-sugar and high-salt products to standards for school canteens. Childhood obesity is strongly associated with obesity in adulthood and with the earlier onset of type-2 diabetes, high blood pressure and joint problems — costs that eventually fall on the Serviço Nacional de Saúde (SNS, the National Health Service).

For parents, the survey is a reminder that the daily drink and the after-school snack add up. For policymakers, the near-40-percent figure is a marker against which the next decade of nutrition policy will be judged.