Greeks are the most obese people in the EU, with one in three men and 25 percent of woman considered to be overweight, according to data presented by the EU Commission yesterday.

Poor diets based on fatty and sweet ingredients combined with the lack of physical exercise account for six of the seven top factors leading to bad health, according to EU Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou. “Now the biggest problem of obesity is in the southern member states who have abandoned the Mediterranean diet and go for the same kind of nutrition of fast food as elsewhere,” he said.

In second place on the obesity lists come men from Malta and women from Cyprus.

The Commission said that it was considering tightening food advertising and nutrition labeling rules if companies failed to improve consumer awareness about unhealthy foods.

Kyprianou said that he wanted to “encourage” food companies to provide consumers with full information about the health risks associated with their products.