Over half the EU adult population is now overweight or obese according to a report published today

Today, DG Health and Consumers presented a joint report "Health at a Glance: Europe 2010" with the OECD giving insight into the current EU situation on health. It compiles data from the OECD, Eurostat and the WHO, and shows the trends on health, health systems and health spending in the 27 EU Member States, the 3 European Free Trade Association countries (Iceland, Norway and Switzerland), and Turkey.

--Some key findings of the report:
*Increased life expectancy at birth in the EU from 72 years in 1980 to 78 years in 2007.
Fewer deaths from heart disease , but still the biggest cause of deaths in the EU, accounting for 40% of all deaths in Europe in 2008.

*Strong link between the prevalence of dementia and the ageing population - the number of people aged over 65 is expected to double between 1995 - 2050.

*Shortage of doctors is a cause for concern in many European countries.

*Health spending is up in all EU Member States , often increasing faster than economic growth. In 2008, EU Member States spent on average 8.3% of their GDP on health, up from 7.3% in 1998.