Half of French population 'either obese or overweight'

If moderate weight problems have tended to decline over the past decade, obesity continues to plague the French population – with nearly one adult in every six now officially considered obese.

Seventeen percent of French adults, around 8.6 million people, are obese, according to the League Against Obesity. © iStock/gchutka

Seventeen percent of French adults are obese. That's 8.6 million people.

The corresponding figure in 2012 was 15 percent, with just 10 percent qualifying as obese in 2002, according to figures released on Wednesday by the League Against Obesity.

More positively, fewer French people now suffer from moderate weight problems, the ranks of the merely overweight having shrunk to their 2002 level, accounting for just 30 percent of the population, down by two points from the 2012 findings. 

It's easy to calculate where you are on the scale form skinny to dangerously overweight.

To work out your Body Mass Index (BMI), you simply divide you weight in kilogrammes by the square of your height in metres. In other words, by your height multiplied by itself.

If the figure you obtain is less than 18.5, you are skinny.

Between 18.5 and 25 you are normal. From 25 to 30 you are overweight.

Obesity begins at 30. And, if you get beyond 40, you are considered to be massively obese.

Half the French either obese or overweight

According to the figures released by the League Against Obesity, an organisation founded in 2014 with a view "to changing the way we consider obesity, and improving medical treatment of the condition," nearly half the French population is either obese or overweight.

Diet and modern sedentary lifestyles are major contributors to the problem, though there are also important genetic factors.

The condition varies geographically, with northern and eastern France reporting more cases than the Mediterranean coast or the Paris region.

There is also a huge social element, with workers and employees twice as likely to be overweight as managers.

While there is an obvious link between age and an increase in BMI, the latest report indicates a worrying trend towards obesity among children and adolescents

Being overweight is a major public health problem since the condition increases the sufferer's risk of diabetes and high blood pressure. Experts also warn of psychological problems related to poor self-esteem and depression.