No of overweight people rising in Europe, especially children

According to recent studies, the number of obese people in Europe is rising and especially the rise in children is of worry for all the parents and health officials (From Yahoo News).

The obesity problem is rising like an epidemic in Europe. Estimates show there are around 1.1 billion overweight people in the world, of whom 312 million are obese, and that in Europe 10-20 percent of men are obese and almost half the population is overweight.

Around 30 percent children in Britain are either overweight or obese and this percentage in rising in south Europe. "More than 80 percent of children who are already obese will stay obese as adults," said Martin Fried of Prague's Charles University, who authored a major study on the effect of surgery on obese patients.

There are around 11 million Europeans who are grossly obese, with a body mass index of 40 or more.

Obese people are far more likely to suffer early deaths, have health problems like type-2 diabetes, and have a lower quality of life, as well as being unable to participate in work.