While 45 percent of adults living in the EU had a normal weight, 53 percent were considered overweight and the rest were underweight, as the EU statistics agency Eurostat announced. Croatia and Malta had the highest levels of overweight people at 65 percent, while Austria was within the EU average at 52 percent.
Italians do better
Most of Austria’s neighbors had above-average values. Hungary and the Czech Republic with 60 percent, Slovakia with 59 percent and Slovenia with 58 percent were immediately behind Croatia and Malta. In Italy, on the other hand, it was only 46 percent – the lowest figure for overweight. There was also a clear difference in age and gender.
While the 18- to 24-year-olds had a value of around 25 percent, the figure was around 65 percent for the 65 to 74-year-olds. Meanwhile, men are well above the average at 60 percent, while women are well below the average at around 58 percent.
The BMI is used to measure the relationship between height and weight. A BMI of more than 30 is considered obesity. Values for adults between 18.5 and 25 are considered normal weight.
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
