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Obesity in Italy has been increasingly cited as a major health issue in recent years.

Overall, the Italians, along with the French and the Swiss, are considered among the slimmest people in Europe on average. In 2011, Italy was the only country in Europe where the average weight dropped.

Causes

Causes are the Mediterranean diet and lifestyle choices such as exercise and getting enough sleep. However, obesity rates in Italian two-year-olds are the highest in Europe with a rate of 42%.

Effects

Several studies have shown that obese men tend to have a lower sperm count, fewer rapidly mobile sperm and fewer progressively motile sperm compared to normal-weight men.

Programs

Scientists from the University of Verona designed a new type of park to help deal with obesity in Italian children, in which an adult trainer is in charge and the children follow a series of organised exercises. All children are under six years old, and the cost of the playground was $250,000.

See also

• Health in Italy

References

1. ^ "New obesity report says world is fatter, rounder, less productive". Deutsche Welle. February 4, 2011. Retrieved February 4, 2011.
2. ^ "Italien hat die dicksten Kinder in Europa". Die Welt. 13 November 2011. Retrieved 14 November 2011.
3. "Obesity linked to lower sperm count in young men". Reuters. August 11, 2010. Retrieved September 25, 2010.
4. "New park opens as Italy wrestles with record obesity". BBC. 27 June 2010. Retrieved 7 July 2010.

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