< Back to situations

Monitor this situation.

[SITUATION] · [ACTIVE] · [HEALTH]

3 clusters · 27 sources · 5 days · First seen · Last updated

European obesity and excess weight trends

Overview

Eurostat data from 2025 indicates that obesity and pre-obesity are significant public health challenges across Europe, with more than half of the European Union adult population carrying excess weight. In the EU, 16.3% of adults were classified as obese, while 35.4% were categorized as pre-obese.

Regional data highlights significant disparities. Malta reported the highest obesity rate at 26.6%, followed by Latvia (24.6%) and Finland (23.2%). In contrast, Italy maintained the lowest rate at 7.0%, while Greece reported 12.8% and Romania 12.9%.

Specific updates show rising trends in Cyprus, where the obesity rate for adults reached 15.5% in 2025, up from 13.8% in 2022. When combined with the pre-obese population, more than half of Cypriot adults fall into these categories. Croatia also reported an obesity rate of 16.5%, which is slightly above the EU average.

Demographic trends consistently show that men are more likely to be overweight or obese than women. Across the EU, the obesity rate for men was 17.4% compared to 15.3% for women. In Cyprus, a notable gender gap exists, with 18.5% of men being obese compared to 12.7% of women.

In Greece, the health landscape is further complicated by high rates of chronic disease. More than 40% of adults live with a chronic condition, and among those over 65, approximately half suffer from two or more simultaneous conditions. Major issues include cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes, respiratory diseases, and chronic kidney disease. Experts note the Greek healthcare system is heavily hospital-centric, with over 40% of health expenditures directed toward hospitals, compared to a European average of approximately 28%.

Entities

Malta · European Union · Eurostat · North Macedonia · San Francisco

Timeline

  1. 4 days ago

    [HEALTH] 3 sources
    European obesity rates and chronic disease trends

    Eurostat data shows over half of EU adults are overweight, with Malta highest and Italy lowest. In Greece, high rates of chronic disease and hospital-centric spending pressure the health system.

  2. 5 days ago

    [HEALTH] 4 sources
    Eurostat reports rising obesity rates in Cyprus and Croatia

    Eurostat data shows rising obesity rates in 2025, with Croatia at 16.5% and Cyprus at 15.5%. More than half of the EU adult population is now classified as either obese or pre-obese.

  3. 8 days ago

    [HEALTH] 20 sources
    Eurostat data shows rising obesity rates across Europe

    Eurostat data shows 16.3% of EU adults are obese, with over half the population overweight. Malta has the highest rates, while Italy has the lowest. Men are more frequently affected than women.

Sources

alfavita.gr · biznisvesti.mk · canalalentejo.sapo.pt · cinema.sapo.pt · cnnportugal.iol.pt · cordmagazine.com · croatiaweek.com · cyprus-mail.com · ertnews.gr · eubusiness.com · europesays.com · f5haber.com · fjala.al · gazeta.mk · insider.gr · lawandorder.gr · lifestyle.sapo.pt · mag.sapo.pt · ohridsky.com · protothema.gr · risalehaber.com · sapo.pt · televisao.sapo.pt · vesnik.com · vreme.mk · worldstockmarket.net · ygeiamou.gr

This summary has been updated 1 time: see revision history