While the World Health Organization warns that over the past four decades obesity rates in the EU had tripled, Croatians are one of the most obese nations in Europe according to Eurostat data, state agency Hina reported on Friday, the World Obesity Day.

“This is due to the increase in the size of portions of sweets, snacks, and soft drinks, as they, on average, became 20-100 percent larger compared to the 1960s. And also, the fact that the average European spends more than five hours every day in a seated position,” said health expert, Maja Baretic, who is in charge of the Centre for Obesity Treatment with the Croatian Ministry of Health.

She added that the obesity problem was further aggravated by the Covid-19 pandemic with lockdowns and restrictions and increasing consumption of take out food.

“All this may well result in more than half of Europe’s population becoming obese by 2030,” she said. The global slogan of this year’s World Obesity Day is Everybody Needs to Act, and the Croatian campaign to raise awareness of this problem will include events in several cities around the country, including Zagreb, Osijek, Rijeka, Solin, and Sinj.

According to health authorities data from 2019, 34 percent of all adult Croatians had what is considered normal body mass index (BMI), around 1 percent were deemed undernourished, and as many as 65 percent were found to be either overweight or obese.

Croatia has around 3.4 million adults,  meaning that there are about 2.2 million overweight or obese Croatians, which is more than half of its entire population. In addition, the share of overweight people rises with age. The share of overweight people is lowest among youths aged 18-24, at 25 percent, and the highest among elderly people aged 65-74, at 79 percent.

“Particularly concerning,” says Baretic, “is that a third of all children aged 8-9 are overweight too, which puts Croatia among top five worst European countries.”

Obesity is a problem that needs tackling, because 44 percent of type 2 diabetes cases can be attributed to excessive body mass, as well as 23 percent of ischemic heart disease cases. In addition, experts say that anywhere from 7 to 41 percent of certain types of cancer are caused by obesity, and it is estimated that RU countries spend as high as 7 percent of their health budgets on treating diseases linked with obesity.

Combating obesity requires a change of lifestyle which includes healthier food habits and regular physical activity. In some cases where these measures are ineffective, drug treatment and even surgery can be used. Experts say that many patients also need psychological support in their fight with obesity.