4 in 10 adults in Italy are overweight, says ISS survey

Birthplace of the Mediterranean diet, Italy suffers from an increase in the number of obese people

Data from the Italian National Institute of Health (ISS) reveal that four out of ten adults in Italy are overweight: three overweight and one obese.

While be the birthplace of the Mediterranean diet, Italians are eating little fruit and vegetables, says the study carried out on the population between 18 and 69 years old.

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Three in 10 have a body mass index (BMI) between 25 and 29,9.

These are conditions affected by a series of factors: increasing age, economic difficulties, low level of education and low-quality, low-cost foods, whose commercial distribution is spread through efficient marketing systems, says the study.

The southern regions are those with the worst averages.

A Campania, says the ISS, continues to hold the record for the highest participation of overweight people (more than half). 

Calabria, Basilicata e Molise follow, with values ​​not far off. 

Read the original ISS text (in Italian)