Maltese among world's most obese - WHO

The Maltese are among the most obese people in the world with 75 per cent of men and women over the age of 30 considered to be overweight, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Malta ranks in the highest risk category for both men and women. The only other countries in the same situation are the United States, Kuwait, Cook Islands, Niue Island, Palau and Samoa.

According to WHO, over one billion people are overweight globally and if current trends continue, the number will increase to 1.5 billion by 2015.

WHO said that being overweight or obese are important risk factors for cardiovascular disease, which is the number one cause of death and accounts for over 17 million deaths every year.

Once considered a problem only in wealthy countries, WHO estimates show that overweight and obesity are now dramatically on the rise in low and middle income countries. This is due to a number of factors, including a global shift in diet towards increased energy, fat, salt and sugar intake, and a trend towards decreased physical activity due to the sedentary nature of modern work and transportation and increasing urbanisation.

Raised body mass index is a major risk factor for heart disease, stroke and other chronic diseases. WHO estimates that over the next 10 years, cardiovascular disease, primarily heart disease or stroke, will increase most notably in the regions of the Eastern Mediterranean and Africa, where cardiovascular disease-related deaths are predicted to rise by over 25 percent.

According to Maltese statistics going back to the year 2000, 46 per cent of deaths in Malta are due to circulatory problems, including heart disease and stroke.