MADRID: A government study says more than half of Spain’s adult population is overweight or obese — the nation that prides itself on a healthy Mediterranean diet rich in fruit, vegetables and fish.

Figures released by the health ministry say more than 52 per cent of Spanish adults have a weight problem — 37.4 per cent are overweight and 15.3 per cent obese.

That marks a rise from 49.2 per cent in the last such survey, held in 2003.

The ministry said this is the first time more than half of Spain’s adults are classified as having a weight problem since it started monitoring the situation in 1987.

Spanish children are also getting fatter.

The proportion of Spaniards aged 2-17 who are overweight increased nearly three points to 27.6 per cent, and nearly one in 10 are obese, a rise of 15 per cent since 2003, the study said on Monday.

The government did not offer an explanation of why Spaniards are getting heavier, but health experts and doctors often blame sedentary lifestyles dominated by television and computers, and changing dietary habits in which young people eat more junk food.—AP