Newsroom
More than half of Cyprus’ adult population was classified as either overweight or obese in 2025, according to new Eurostat figures that point to an increase in obesity since 2022.
The data showed that 15.5% of people aged 18 and over in Cyprus were obese last year, compared with 13.8% three years earlier. Obesity is defined as having a body mass index, or BMI, of 30 or above.
Another 36.4% of adults were classified as overweight, with a BMI ranging from 25 to below 30. This was also higher than the 34.6% recorded in 2022.
Combined, the figures mean that 51.9% of adults in Cyprus fell into one of the two categories in 2025.
The statistics also revealed a clear difference between men and women. Nearly one in five men, or 18.5%, were obese, compared with 12.7% of women.
Cyprus remained close to the European Union average, where 16.3% of adults were classified as obese and 35.4% as overweight in 2025. Together, these categories accounted for more than half of the EU's adult population.
Men across the EU were more likely than women to fall into both categories. The obesity rate among men stood at 17.4%, compared with 15.3% among women, while 41.9% of men were overweight, compared with 29.3% of women.
Women were more likely to be underweight, with 2.9% falling into this category, compared with 1% of men.
Malta recorded the highest obesity rate among EU member states at 26.6%, followed by Latvia at 24.6% and Finland at 23.2%.
Italy had the lowest rate at 7%, followed by Greece at 12.8% and Romania at 12.9%.
