According to a recent survey done in the European Union nearly 40% of all Europeans adults think that they are overweight. Just over half however (55%) believe that their weight is just right and practically everyone (95%) agreed with the statement that obesity is bad for your health.

The European Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou said that this extensive survey gives important and useful insights into the attitudes and beliefs of European Union citizens when it comes to obesity nutrition and general health. On the whole it appears that EU citizens know that obesity is very harmful to health and that there is a problem all over Europe with it. 

The survey also recorded that many Europeans where heeding the messages of health campaigners and were eating less fatty foods and consuming more vegetables. At the same time however the majority of people in Europe felt that they were trapped in a sedentary lifestyle that made it difficult to exercise and get fit. The statistics show that below 30% of Europeans make use of intensive physical exercise regularly.

The European Commission that is the actual the executive arm of the European Union is busy making plans and developing proposals for a complete European initiative and strategy to tackle obesity in 2007.

Other statistics from the survey were that 83% of people believed that childhood obesity had risen over the last 5 years and 90% believed that intensive food promotion could influence children in their diets. Again the vast majority (85%) reckoned that public health authorities could and should take a bigger stand in beating the increasing obesity problem all over Europe.

At present Italy can claim the lowest obesity rates in Europe and the UK has among the highest obesity rates. Italians tend to eat far more fruit and vegetables than people from the UK and this is probably why they are thinner and less obese.