The winners of the obesity stakes for Europe according to a European Commission survey are Malta and Greece. The survey also reports that the average person from the European Union is overweight meaning that they have a BMI of 25 and over. The nations that can take the prizes for being the most slim and trim are France and Italy. The UK is among the heaviest of all European nations.

This study showed that the average BMI of people in the EU was 25.4 meaning that the average person was overweight. Being overweight and obesity in Europe are becoming major problems and costing individual states millions of euros in increased health care costs that are all related to obesity illnesses.

The country that had the highest average BMI of 26.6 interestingly was one of Europe’s smallest states Malta, that is located in the centre of the Mediterranean just below Italy which recorded the lowest BMI average of just 24.3.

The Maltese diet is basically a Mediterranean diet with much fish and vegetables that are traditionally good for you, however the Maltese bread loaf that is a staple part of the working man’s diet in Malta is probably responsible for part of the weight problem that the Maltese have, as well as their culture of eating large portions of food wherever they go.

The European Commission that launched the survey is looking for ways of cutting back the obesity in Europe and should be shortly launching new initiatives that should stop the forward march of weight gain in the EU.

Obesity’s problem is not just the reason that it is unpleasant for the obese person but that it is so detrimental to health and can cause cardio disease, diabetes and high blood pressure, all of which ends up costing the state money for its treatment.