BODY-MASS AND SOCIAL-CLASS - A COMPARISON OF FINLAND AND SWEDEN IN THE 1990S

High physical weight affects public health as well as people's social relations. This study seeks to examine the distribution of physical we ight across the social structure in Finland and Sweden in the early 19 90s. We compare physical weight, classified by overweight and obesity, 1) between men and women, 2) between different age groups, and 3) bet ween social classes in these two countries. Comparable interview surve ys were conducted in Finland 1994 (N = 8,650, response rate 73 %) and in Sweden 1991 (N = 5,306, response rate 79%) Physical weight, overwei ght and obesity of populations are described in terms of body mass ind ex (BMI = weight (kg) /height (m(2))). The average BMI is higher in Fi nnish men (25.6) and women (24.6) than in their Swedish counterparts ( 24.6 and 23.2, respectively). In both countries, the average BMI is hi gher in men than in women below the age of about 55-64 years. In both countries and in both genders the average BMI is higher, the higher th e age. The level of overweight as well as obesity is lower in Sweden t han in Finland. Social class differences can be found in both countrie s. The odds ratio for overweight is higher in Finnish male and female farmers (OR = 1.57 and 1.94, respectively) as compared to upper white collars (OR = 1.0). In Sweden, high odds ratio for overweight can be f ound among male entrepreneurs (OR = 1.80) and female unskilled manuals (OR = 2.65). Obesity varies by social class in Swedish men and women as well as in Finnish women, but not in Finnish men. The results show that Finnish men and women are more often overweight and obese than th eir Swedish counterparts, but social class differences in overweight a nd obesity are larger in Sweden than in Finland.