UK women top European obesity league

There are more obese women in the UK than any other European country, according to a new EU study.

Researchers at data agency Eurostat examined 19 countries and revealed almost one in four British women was obese in the year 2008 to 2009, a far higher proportion than in other western European nations.

Malta and Latvia were ranked in second and third places, with just over a fifth of women in these countries having a body mass index (BMI) that rated as obese.

UK men fared almost as badly in the study, which found 22 per cent of British males were obese – second only to Malta.

For a person to be classed as overweight, they must have a BMI of between 25 and 30. Obese people are categorised as having a score of 30 or more for their BMI, which is calculated by dividing body weight with height squared.

In 2007, the UK government predicted 25 per cent of children, 50 per cent of women and 60 per cent of men in Britain will be obese by 2050.