Finland may rank highly on many global indicators, but the physical condition of its population tells a less flattering story, according to Helsingin Sanomat.
Roughly two-thirds of Finnish men are now overweight or obese, and the trend shows little sign of reversing. Since the early '90s, the average weight of military conscripts has risen by eight kilos.
Researchers at the public health-promoting UKK Institute are now attempting to quantify the problem more precisely with a new index.
Over the past year, they have developed a so-called physical functioning Index, which they claim has no direct equivalent elsewhere in the world. The idea is to give people an accurate picture of how fit they actually are, as perceptions don't always match reality.
Pay transparency
Hufvudstadsbladet looks at the EU's pay transparency directive, which aims for workers to know how their wages are determined. The directive is set to be incorporated into national law across the bloc by early June.
The aim is to narrow the gender pay gap. By forcing firms to disclose the logic behind wages, policymakers hope to expose — and ultimately reduce — disparities between men's and women's earnings.
But not everyone is convinced the new rules will work as intended.
Heli Hagman, chief negotiator at the Akava Special Branches trade union, said the directive is good in principle, but noted the rules apply only to workplaces with at least 100 employees.
Employers' representatives are less enthusiastic. At the Federation of Finnish Enterprises, director Atte Rytkönen‑Sandberg warned that the directive could increase administrative burdens.
A question of belief
A government working group is proposing a significant shift in how religious education is taught in schools, reports Ilta-Sanomat, whose readers were divided on the idea.
The group under the education ministry recommends replacing religion and ethics with a single, shared worldview subject for everyone. They said this would improve equality and save money.
Currently, religious education is compulsory in Finnish schools. Most pupils study Lutheran Christianity, reflecting the country's majority affiliation with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. Pupils who do not belong to a religious community typically study ethics instead, while those registered with other recognised religions can receive instruction in their own faith.
This means the proposed reform would move away from this parallel system towards a single subject covering religion, ethics and broader questions of belief.
