EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIA Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition 2024: STATISTICS AND TRENDS

This section assesses progress towards three additional WHA endorsed global nutrition targets: exclusive breastfeeding, low birthweight and adult obesity.

3.1 ADULT OBESITY

In 2022, the prevalence of obesity in the adult population in the ECA region was 22.6 percent (up from 20.4 percent in 2012) (FIGURE 15, TABLE 5). Since 2000, the prevalence in the ECA region and all its subregions has consistently exceeded global estimates (15.8 percent in 2022). The prevalence in most subregions was above 20 percent in 2022, with the exception of the EFTA subregion, which stood at 15.0 percent. The highest prevalence of 32.3 percent was noted in the “Other” subgroup (Andorra, Israel and Türkiye). A comparison between 2000 and 2022 shows an increase in the prevalence of adult obesity in all subregions, with the highest increases in the subregions of Central Asia (up 12.6 percentage points) and the Caucasus (up 11.4 percentage points).

In 2022, the data on the adult obesity was available for 52 countries in the ECA region. FIGURE 16 shows a prevalence higher than 30 percent in seven ECA countries: Georgia was the highest, at 34.7 percent, and it was followed closely by Romania (34 percent), Türkiye (33.3 percent), Malta (32.3 percent), Hungary (31.7 percent), Croatia (30.6 percent) and Uzbekistan (30 percent). On the other hand, France had the lowest prevalence of obesity among adults in the region, equivalent to 9.7 percent. From 2012 to 2022, the prevalence of adult obesity increased in nearly all ECA countries, declining only in France, Germany (marginally) and Spain.