Obesity rates in Europe

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Europe had the 2nd highest proportion of obese people, behind North and South America. Globally, in 2014, 39 percent of men and 40 percent of women aged 18 or over were overweight. Almost 1 adult in 6 in the European Union is considered overweight.

In the European Union, the proportion of adults (aged 18 years and over) who were considered to be overweight varied between 36 percent in Italy and 55 percent in Malta for women and between 54 percent in the Netherlands and 68 percent in Croatia for men.

The predominance of adult obesity in European countries was 53 percent. The overall prevalence was higher in Eastern European nations when compared with central and northern countries. Besides, the prevalence of overweight was related to socioeconomic characteristics, which indicated that there might be a relationship with social iniquities.

The highest proportions of women who were obese were recorded in Malta (28.9%), the United Kingdom (27.8%), Hungary (26.4%), and Lithuania (26.3%).