Greece has recorded one of Europe’s steepest declines in obesity, with new data from Eurostat showing the country’s adult obesity rate falling from 17.6% in 2008 to 12.8% in 2025. The figures, based on body mass index measurements, count adults as obese when their BMI reaches 30 or higher.
The drop was not a straight line. Eurostat data show the rate held near 17% in 2014, then dropped sharply to 11.6% in 2017, climbed back to 16.7% in 2019, and fell again to 11.9% in 2022 before settling at 12.8% last year.
Even with those swings, the long-term direction points down. The steady decline now places Greece among the countries with the lowest obesity rates in the 27-nation bloc, trailing only Italy.
EU obesity levels climb as the gender gap widens
Across the European Union, obesity remains far more common. Eurostat reported that 16.3% of adults were obese in 2025, and another 35.4% were classified as pre-obese, meaning they had a BMI between 25 and 30.
In 2025, 16.3% of people in the EU aged 18 or over were obese, meaning that they had a body mass index of 30 or higher. ⚖️
Highest in:
🇲🇹 Malta (26.6%)
🇱🇻 Latvia (24.6%)
🇫🇮 Finland (23.2%)Lowest:
🇮🇹 Italy (7.0%)
🇬🇷 Greece (12.8%)
🇷🇴 Romania (12.9%)➡️ https://t.co/vpqoz5VDuj pic.twitter.com/W9cpyYC7mo
— EU_Eurostat (@EU_Eurostat) September 4, 2026
Combined, more than half of all EU adults were overweight last year. The bloc’s overall trend has actually moved in the opposite direction from Greece. Eurostat figures show the EU obesity rate rose from 15.4% in 2014 to 16.3% in 2025, even as Greece’s rate fell over roughly the same stretch.
The data also point to a gender gap. Men were more likely than women to be overweight, with an obesity rate of 17.4% compared with 15.3% for women. Men were also more likely to fall into the pre-obese category, at 41.9% against 29.3% for women. Women, meanwhile, were more likely to be underweight, at 2.9% compared with 1.0% for men.
Greece’s obesity decline ranks among Europe’s steepest drops
Malta reported the highest obesity rate in the bloc, at 26.6%, followed by Latvia at 24.6% and Finland at 23.2%. Italy had the lowest rate, at 7.0%, with Greece and Romania close behind at 12.8% and 12.9%.
Spain and Cyprus posted mid-range figures, at 14.9% and 15.5%, both well above Greece’s rate. Greece’s obesity rate also sits below the euro area average of 15.9%, showing how far the country’s rate has fallen over the past decade and a half compared with its neighbors.
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