LUXEMBOURG / RankWire.AI / – According to the latest Eurostat figures, 16.3% of adults within the European Union were classified as obese in 2025, while an additional 35.4% fell into the pre-obese category. Collectively, these two groups comprised 51.7% of the population aged 18 and above, indicating that more than half of EU adults had a body mass index categorized as overweight.
The data further revealed notable gender disparities across EU nations, with the obesity rate reaching 17.4% among men and 15.3% among women. Pre-obesity affected 41.9% of men compared to 29.3% of women, and a higher percentage of women were recorded as underweight at 2.9%, whereas for men, this figure was 1.0%.
Eurostat highlighted significant variation in obesity prevalence among member states, with Malta exhibiting the highest share—26.6% of adults classified as obese in 2025. Latvia followed at 24.6%, with Finland ranked third at 23.2%. Conversely, Italy registered the lowest obesity rate at 7.0%, while Greece was at 12.8% and Romania at 12.9%, illustrating a broad range across countries.
Malta reports the highest obesity prevalence in the EU
BMI, or body mass index, is a standard measurement that calculates weight in kilograms relative to the square of height in metres, and Eurostat considers adults with a BMI of 30 or higher as obese. Those with a BMI between 25 and below 30 are categorized as pre-obese, while the broader overweight classification includes both obese and pre-obese groups, and a BMI below 18.5 is categorized as underweight.
Data by gender indicates that excess weight impacted a larger proportion of men than women in 2025, with combined obesity and pre-obesity rates reaching 59.3% for men versus 44.6% for women. Nonetheless, when isolating obesity alone, the difference between sexes was less pronounced. These statistics, focusing on individuals aged 18 and older, provide a standardized method for comparing weight categories across EU member states.
Obesity figures contribute to EU health and sustainability monitoring
The obesity rate is also a key component in European health surveillance linked to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, playing a vital role in indicators related to SDG 2, which aims at zero hunger and improved nutrition. Additionally, it supports SDG 3, dedicated to health and well-being, enabling policymakers to monitor nutrition and health status using comparable data across participating nations.
The 2025 data underscores that obesity, along with pre-obesity, remains a significant aspect of excess weight within the EU, with roughly one in six adults affected by obesity alone and more than one in three classified as pre-obese. The figures reveal considerable variation among countries, from Italy’s low of 7.0% to Malta’s high of 26.6%, emphasizing the disparities while confirming that the combined overweight categories encompass a majority of the adult population across the Union.