10 Most Obese Countries in Europe

With obesity rate growing rapidly in the whole world, take a look at the most obese countries in Europe. Obesity is becoming one of the most serious health problems around the globe.

Obesity rate is calculated by the value body mass index (BMI). A person is considered to be obese when their BMI exceeds 30. But what BMI actually represents? BMI is a measure that indirectly represents the amount of body fat related to height. BMI value is calculated by dividing body mass by square of body height. This means that BMI grows directly proportionally to weight and inversely proportional to height. This might seem to be generalizing body mass, since taller people might get unrealistically higher BMI values compared to their body measures. Another disadvantage of this value (when talking about global statistics) is that it does not take into account factors like sex, age and muscle mass which impact a lot on actual fat quantity in the body.

 Nevertheless, BMI is used as standardized value for determining crude weight status for both sexes for age above 20. According to BMI, four categories were made that represent weight status of a person. Those categories are: underweight (BMI ˂ 18.5), normal weight ( BMI 18.5-24.9), overweight (25.0-29.9) and obese (BMI ≥ 30, as we have noted earlier). BMI values for children and adolescents under 18 years of age are calculated in bit different manner.

Deadliest and unhealthiest factors that increase premature mortality in Europe are alcohol and tobacco consumption and obesity. Ireland is on a good way to becoming one of the most obese countries in Europe as well as the UK, both of these countries projected to have over 37% of the population obesity by 2025. The obesity rate is growing rapidly in many countries, but there are those who actually care about this issue, whom you can see in 11 Thinnest Skinniest Fittest Countries in the World.

Most of the statistics were done for the European Union, so some of the information come from Euronews, Eurostat. Since those statistics are for the countries that are members of European Union, and as we all know Europe has more countries than that, we tried to search individually and compare the results. An interesting statistics of the most obese countries in Europe is graphically shown nicely on maps from Jakub Marian’s Language learning, science & art.

All of that information is nicely put and graphically represented, but certainly the World Health Organization gives the most detailed and most reliable statistics on many health related issues. Because of that, we took their information as the most reliable one. For this research we have used data from Global Status Report on noncommunicable diseases for 2014.

As noted earlier, there are many parameters on how obesity is represented: by age (children, adolescents, adults) or by sex. We have here concentrated on adult obesity percentage of both sexes for age above 20. So, statistics for the most obese adult populations of Europe are:

10. Poland

Population percentage of BMI ≥ 30: 27

Having a high percentage of the obese population, Poland also has an alarming number of overweight people that reaches over 62% of the whole population. The main reason for overweight and obesity is unhealthy food and food overtaking. Even though Polish government has provided a list of products that should be banned from schools, and introduced educational programs for healthy nutrition, obesity rate in this country is still growing.

9. Ireland

Population percentage of BMI ≥ 30: 27

In the past two decades obesity in Ireland has doubled and still rising dramatically, with six out of ten adults and one in four children being obese. Obesity is a consequence of certain lifestyles and socio-economic status. Because of great concern for the health of its citizens, the Irish government has made an Action Plan for 2016-2025 in order to promote and implement healthier lifestyle in Ireland. That is going to be done by introducing healthier lifestyle to young people and children in schools, campaigns supported by mass media, urban planning that will involve more outdoor areas for recreation.

 

8. Slovenia

Population percentage of BMI ≥ 30: 27.4

Slovenia, one of the most obese countries in Europe, has a program that tracks and surveys obesity and overweight rates in the younger population, mainly in schools, and has a plan for prevention of overweight and obesity in childhood. Nevertheless, levels of obesity in Slovenia are still among the highest in Europe.

7. Slovakia

Population percentage of BMI ≥ 30: 27.4

Some of the leading causes of mortality in Slovakia are cardiovascular diseases (causing 54.5% of deaths) which are in tight connection with obesity. The alarming fact is that obesity is rapidly inclining annually, being 27.4% in 2014 compared to 24.6% in 2010.

6. Lithuania

Population percentage of BMI ≥ 30: 27.5

Overweight and obesity rates in Lithuania have shown to be closely related to socioeconomic status of the population. The lower the socioeconomic status, the higher obesity rate, and it is more prevalent in men than women.

5. Malta

Population percentage of BMI ≥ 30: 28

Malta is known to be one of the most obese countries in Europe, as well as the country with high rates of diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases. It is also one of the laziest (with the most physically inactive population of 71.9%) and car-dependent countries in the world.

4. Czech Republic

Population percentage of BMI ≥ 30: 29.1

Popularly, obesity in the Czech Republic that ranks 4th on the list of most obese countries in Europe has been proclaimed as “epidemic”, for having one-third of nation caught by this epidemic. The starting point for obesity comes from an early age, from inappropriate childhood nutrition that includes eating fast food and other unhealthy equivalents.

3. Turkey

Population percentage of BMI ≥ 30: 29.4

The main reason for obesity in Turkey is bad nutrition. It mostly reflects in a low percentage of fruit and vegetable consumption. Adding to that, causes of obesity and other diseases like cardiac diseases and cholesterol is triggered by low physical activity, only about 3% of the population is moderately physically active.

2. UK

Population percentage of BMI ≥ 30: 29.8

Like in Malta, the main reasons for the high obesity rates in the UK among junk food are a low rate of physical activity – relying on cars as a mean form of moving, desk-based jobs. Since there is a great concern that the UK might become leading in obesity in Europe, and wider, there are some serious government plans to decrease obesity rate. It is mostly oriented towards changes in lifestyle and consumption of better food.

1. Andorra

Population percentage of BMI ≥ 30: 32.1

Who would have said that this tiny little country would take the first place in a race of the most obese countries in Europe? The obesity rate in Andorra is slightly increasing, being 29.4 in 2010. With the population of only around 85,000 people, this figure is alarming. Although there is no sufficient information about the causes and distribution of obesity in Andorra (and also some other resources claiming that Andorrans have the highest life expediencies in men and that obesity is actually rare), we have been guided here by crude figure facts.