Ireland, the United Kingdom and Albania are the first three countries in Europe in child obesity. Bulgaria is fifth, according to a study published at a Congress on the problem in Prague. The study has been conducted with the participation of the World Health Organization (WHO) based on data for children aged up to 5 years in 32 countries of the Old Continent.

In Ireland, 27.5% of the children under the age of 5 are fat or obese, while in the UK they are 23.1%. Albania follows with 22%, and Georgia – with 20%.

In Bulgaria 19.8% of the children aged up to 5 years are obese. Spain follows with 18.4%. At the opposite pole are the Czech Republic – with 5.5 percent, Belgium – with 7% and 8% – in Sweden. Italy and France are in the middle of the table, respectively by having 10.2% and 11.4%.

Another study, presented at the colloquium in the Czech capital, concluded it was more likely that obese children leave school early compared to the ones with normal weight. 56% of overweight children under the age of 12 regularly attend school. This applies to 76 percent of their other peers.
According to the WHO estimates presented in Prague, by 2030 Europe will be facing a large scale obesity epidemic among its working-age population.