Half of Europeans overweight: report

More than half of adults in the European Union are fat or obese, according to a new report.

The European Commission and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development published the report, Health at a Glance: Europe 2010, on Tuesday.

The rate of obesity has more than doubled over the past 20 years in most EU countries, which has main implications for health, health systems and the wider economy, the report's authors said.

Among adults, 50.1 per cent are currently overweight or obese, based on the body mass index or BMI — a calculation based on a person's weight-to-height ratio.

Healthy adults should have a BMI of between 18.5 and 25, the World Health Organization recommends. Overweight people have a BMI of between 25 and 30 and obese people have a BMI of 30 or more.