World Health Organisation (WHO) data show that one in six Europeans is obese and one in five is overweight. The percentages vary from country to country, but where is the problem most serious?
Obesity is a growing challenge in Europe, with one in six EU citizens classified as obese and more than half of EU adults overweight.
Obesity is a serious public health problem because it increases the risk of chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, coronary heart disease and some cancers.
On average in the EU, overweight and obesity reduce life expectancy by almost three years, according to a report by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
The latest estimates also show that overweight and obesity are responsible for the death of more than 1.2 million people each year in the European region of the World Health Organization (WHO), which includes 53 countries.
The WHO report "European Regional Report on Obesity in 2022." shows that obesity is the fourth leading cause of premature death after high blood pressure, poor diet and smoking, accounting for more than 13% of all deaths.
Body mass index (BMI) is widely accepted as the most useful measure of obesity in adults (over 18 years of age) when only weight and height data are available.
It represents the ratio between a person's weight and his height./BGNES
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