14/03/2011 12:57:49
gymnag_Paul
Administrator
Posts: 92
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According to the OECD "Health at a Glance: Europe 2010" report over half the adult population of the EU is now either overweight or obese. The report states that this statistic is the same in 15 out of the 27 member countries and the worst affected countries, with over 20% adult obesity are the United Kingdom, Ireland, Malta and Iceland. On average, across the whole of the EU, obesity rates are at 15.5% of the adult population.
In fact, the rate of obesity has more than doubled over the last 20 years in most of the EU countries and this increase hasn't been dependent on the levels of obesity in the late 1980s. The suggestions from the report is that this increase in obesity, and the associated higher risks of chronic illnesses caused by obesity, the cost of healthcare within the EU is goin to increase by as much as 70% between 2007 and 2015, and be 240% more by 2025.
Reference: OECD (2010), Health at a Glance: Europe 2010, OECD Publishing.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/health_glance-2010-en
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Paul
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