Obesity levels in Cyprus reach 16.9%, according to findings of the National Dietary Survey that was published Friday by the Child Health Research and Education Institute.
The survey is the first national scale survey with detailed data on the dietary and other habits of the Cypriot population, related to the lifestyle and health of the citizens, conducted in accordance with the guidelines of the European Food Safety Authority.
A press release by the Institute says that the survey began in 2014 and was completed in 2018. In 2022, adult participants aged 18-64 were reassessed for changes in their weight during the coronavirus pandemic in the first two years. The survey included 1,864 people of all ages (infants, toddlers, children, adolescents, adults up to 74 years old) and pregnant women.
The results show that the prevalence of obesity in Cyprus reaches up to the 16.9% of the general population and that obesity in Cyprus is statistically higher in rural areas than in urban areas. There is also a statistically significantly higher prevalence in low-income households than in high-income households.
It also shows that about one in five Cypriots have poor compliance with the Mediterranean Diet standards, 7% of the adult population fasts strictly according to the rules of the Orthodox Church, one in three Cypriots have very low levels of physical activity, one in five mothers do not breastfeed their children at all, one in two adult men and nearly one in three adult women reported that they smoke regularly and that the average weight gain of the adult population in the first two years of the coronavirus pandemic was 2.7 kg.
The survey was funded by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) with a total grant of 200,000 euro for Cyprus, within the framework of the EU MENU program and was carried out by the State General Laboratory General State Chemistry Laboratory in collaboration with the Research and Educational Institute for Child Health. The study is the first official national survey on the nutrition of Cypriots.
( Source: CNA )
