It’s official. According to European Commission statistics, we Maltese, followed by the Greeks, are the fattest people in Europe.
Labelled heavyweights, Malta’s average body mass index (see below) rings in at 26.6 followed by Greece at 25.9 and Finland at 25.8.
According to World Health Organisation guidelines, anyone with a BMI of between 18.5 and 25 is a healthy weight. Anyone less than 18.5 is considered underweight. A BMI of between 25 and 30 is classed as overweight, and anything over 30 is obese. Obesity, which is linked to a range of health problems, including heart disease, is a growing problem across much of the developed world.
The nation with the slimmest people, according to the survey, is Italy, where the average index is 24.3. The only other countries with an average index in the healthy range are France at 24.5, Austria at 24.8, Poland at 24.8 and the Netherlands at 24.9.
Three-quarters of the European nations surveyed tip the scales at well above the recommended levels. Residents of only seven member countries are, on average, what is regarded by the World Health Organisation as a healthy weight.
Despite the figures, only 38 per cent of EU citizens consider themselves to be overweight, according to the poll of about 1,000 people in each of the 25 EU member states. Most blamed a sedentary life for restricting their scope to be healthier.
The commission plans to launch a strategy to tackle obesity next year, in fact this week, ministers from across the EU are due to meet in Istanbul to agree on an anti-obesity charter.
While the average Maltese weight is not particularly high, this is compensated for by the fact that we are the shortest nation in Europe with an average height of 164.9 centimetres compared to the EU average of 169.6 centimetres.
Although Malta weighed in as the fattest nation, the other figures are confusing as some 77 per cent of respondents said (second place behind the Netherlands at 79 per cent) they believe that it is easy to eat a healthy diet.
On the other hand, Malta tops the leader board again with 56 per cent of respondents saying that healthy food is bland. Looking on the bright side, 37 per cent of Maltese (second place) said they had changed their eating habits in the last year and a resounding 96 per cent said they wanted government action to tackle obesity.
Only 10 per cent of Maltese said they perform a lot of physical activity with an average of only 29.8 minutes per day. The EU average is of 91.6 minutes per day with the Slovaks coming in first with a staggering average of 167.6 minutes per day.
Weights and measures
Body Mass Index (BMI) is a statistical measure of the weight of a person scaled according to height.
Invented by the Belgian polymath Adolphe Quetelet, it is defined as the individual’s body weight divided by the square of the height, and is almost always expressed in the unit kg.
For instance, a BMI of 18.5 to 25 may indicate optimal weight; a BMI lower than 18.5 suggests the person is underweight while a number above 25 may indicate the person is overweight.
A BMI of below 15 may indicate the person has an eating disorder while a number above 30 suggests the person is obese and over 40, morbidly obese.
However, experts believe that the BMI’s accuracy in relation to actual levels of body fat is easily distorted by such factors as fitness level, muscle mass, bone structure, gender and ethnicity.