Rising EU obesity rings alarm bells in Brussels

Half of EU citizens are overweight according to the UN and World Health Organization (WHO) on May 2013. Among these people, serious obesity is on the rise. It's a heavy and expensive burden for national health care systems - and one the EU Commission hopes to stop.

Hungary leads the most recent European statistics, followed closely by Great Britain, Ireland and Malta. In these countries, roughly every fourth citizen is seriously overweight. Throughout Europe, obesity is putting huge strains on national health care systems. Chronic diseases such as hypertension, cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes and certain cancers are further exacerbated by obesity.

• Primary Source

ESO: Background Information: Website: Obesity in Europe http://www.europeansources.info/record/website-obesity/

ESO: Background Information: Healthcare cuts may have lasting effect on obesity: Think tank http://www.europeansources.info/record/healthcare-cuts-may-have-lasting-effect-on-obesity-think-tank/

EurActiv, 24.05.13: US expert: EU should focus on prevention to combat obesity http://www.euractiv.com/health/expert-eu-focus-research-combat-news-519978

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