[ 2011-11-27 ]

UK women are 'fattest in Europe'
The UK has more obese women than any other country
in Europe, according to European Union figures.

Data agency Eurostat, which looked at 19
countries, found nearly a quarter of UK women -
23.9% - were recorded as being obese in the year
2008 to 2009.

Just over 22% of UK men were classed as obese,
coming second only to Malta.

A person is defined as obese if their body mass
index (BMI), the result of a calculation involving
weight and height, is above a certain level.

The BMI correlates fairly well with body fat.

Statisticians found the share of overweight and
obese people increases with age in all of the 19
member states that data was available for.

The data come from the European Health Interview
Survey (EHIS) and was published by Eurostat, the
statistical office of the European Union.

After the UK, the countries with the highest
levels of female obesity were Malta, with 21.1%,
and Latvia, where 20.9% fulfilled that criteria.

Meanwhile, after Malta and the UK, the countries
with the highest instances of male obesity were
Hungary - where 21.4% fall into that category -
and the Czech Republic, where 18.4% are classed as
such.

The UK's high levels of obesity are in stark
contrast to those in countries such as Romania,
where just 8% of women were classed as obese along
with 7.6% of men.

Obesity levels were also found to be low in Italy,
Bulgaria and France.

In Italy, 9.3% of women were found to be obese and
11.3% men.

Meanwhile, in Bulgaria levels of obesity for women
and men were found to be 11.3% and 11.6%, with
levels of France identified as being 12.7% and
11.7% respectively.

The figures suggested that the proportion of women
who are obese or overweight falls as the
educational level rises.

Last month, Health Secretary Andrew Lansley
launched a bid to reduce obesity levels in England
by 2020.

The minister said people need to be honest with
themselves about how much they eat and drink.

He said that, overall, Britons should be eating
five billion fewer calories a day than at present.

Source - BBC

... go Back