3 in 10 Greek students are overweight

A research conducted by the “EYΖΗΝ” Program of the Ministry of Education in collaboration with Harokopeion University show that three out of every ten students are overweight.

The research was conducted between May 15 and June 30, 2013 and included 359,262 students from 4,451 schools across Greece.

The main reason for child obesity is the lack of physical exercise. More than 40 percent of students do not exercise enough. Moreover, it seems that girls exercise less than boys.

Students in Attica are more overweight than students in the Greek periphery.

Specifically: 3 out of 10 students in Attica are overweight, with the greatest percentages being recorded among high school students (ages 12-18).

4 out of 10 boys and 1 out of 3 girls watch more TV that the optimum time.

50 percent of girls and 40 percent of boys have unsatisfactory levels of physical exercise.

In Thessaloniki, 35 percent of students are overweight, while 1 out of 2 girls do not get enough physical exercise.

Eating habits are poor in large cities, such as Athens and Thessaloniki, while eating habits of adolescents in the periphery are a little better.

The best eating habits among students were recorded in the Cycladic islands.

On average, more than 30 percent of students in large cities have poor eating habits, while the percentage in the periphery is much lower, with the Cycladic islands' percentage falling to a maximum of 7 percent.