EU obesity rate reaches one in six adults, Eurostat reports

Saturday 05 September 2026 - 11:13

By: Azzat Manal

EU obesity rate reaches one in six adults, Eurostat reports

According to the latest data released by Eurostat on Friday, obesity affected 16.3% of adults in the European Union in 2025, meaning roughly one in six people aged 18 and over was classified as obese. At the same time, more than half of the EU's adult population was either overweight or obese.

Eurostat defines obesity as having a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or above. In addition to the 16.3% classified as obese, 35.4% of adults had a BMI between 25 and below 30, placing them in the overweight category. Combined, these figures mean that 51.7% of adults in the EU were overweight or obese in 2025.

The overall proportion represents a slight decline from 52.7% recorded in 2019. Eurostat noted that the change was mainly linked to a reduction in the share of people classified as overweight, while the obesity rate itself fell by only 0.2 percentage points over the same period.

Significant differences were recorded between EU member states. Malta reported the highest obesity rate at 26.6%, followed by Latvia at 24.6% and Finland at 23.8%. At the opposite end of the scale, Italy recorded the lowest rate at 7%, followed by Greece at 12.8% and Romania at 12.9%.

The data also showed a clear gender gap. Obesity was more common among men than women, affecting 17.4% of men compared with 15.3% of women. The difference was even wider for overweight adults, with 41.9% of men classified as overweight compared with 29.3% of women.

The figures highlight the continuing scale of excess weight as a major public health issue across Europe, despite the modest improvement recorded since 2019.