Overweight European comparison

Overweight, standards and judgments on weights: European comparisons. The development of obesity is a public health issue in many western countries. There is much more attention to the body. How do people think about their weight?

Is there a difference in how men or women think about their body and weight? How does this differ per EU country? A survey was done by INED (Institute of Demographic Studies) in France.
If the average body size, measured by body mass index (BMI) is 23.2 for French and 26.2

for British women, the ideal weight that they mention is lower. This corresponds to Index 19.5 in France and 20.7 in the United Kingdom. A low weight is particularly valued by the French (compared to other Europeans).

Women in Europe are generally less satisfied with their weight than men, which implies that low weight could be a problem. In France, the ideal body mass index for men is 22.0, whereas this index is higher for British men (22.5), Danish men (22.8) and especially the Greek men (23.4).

Published on 15 May 2010