Many Belgians don't realise they're obese

In fact, their weight should give rise to concern. That’s according to research carried out by the Francophone daily Le Soir for the occasion of the European Obesity Day today.

As it turns out that quite many Belgians are underestimating health risks linked to obesity or even ignoring the problem, experts claim that prevention alone is just not good enough.

One in five Belgians who are overweight don’t realise they have a problem, while one in three that think they are only overweight (i.e. battling a Body Mass Index or BMI between 25 and 30) while they are in fact obese (BMI over 30). A quarter of the respondents also ignore the fact that overweight can trigger cardiovascular problems, diabetes type two or a high blood pressure, among other things.

Doctor Jean-Paul Thissen of the Brussels Saint-Luc Hospital rejects fears voiced by the World Health Organisation that by 2030 no less than 87 per cent of the Belgian women would be obese. On the other hand, he admits that it’s already reaching the size of an epidemic at the moment. ‘The consequences in the field of diabetes will be enormous.’

Flandersnews.be / Expatica

Many Belgians don’t realise they’re obese