Experts with the World Health Organization (WHO) stated that Europe is heading towards a record-breaking explosion in rates of obesity and excessive weight problems.

They also told that by 2030 Europe will face an obesity crisis of 'enormous proportions', according to World Health Organization (WHO) experts.

Researchers told that almost three quarters (73%) of men and 63% of women in the UK are expected to be overweight or obese by 2030. Almost a third of women population of the nation will be under the category of obese, they said.

The research presented a far more worsened picture of the south of the border separating Ulster from the rest of Ireland, where being overweight is predicted to become almost universal.

By year 2030, the proportion of obese and overweight men in the Irish Republic is projected to rise to 89% with a corresponding 85% of women falling into this category, said experts.

The forecast presented by researcher puts Irish men at the top of an 'overweight' table of 53 countries, matched only Uzbekistan.

As far as women are concerned, Bulgaria and Belgium are predicted to have the highest proportion of overweight and obese individuals in 2030.

The estimates presented by researchers are part of the WHO Modelling Obesity Project. These unpublished estimates were presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Prague, Czech Republic.

Experts stated hat 'overweight' is clinically defined by a Body Mass Index (BMI), which is a measure relating height and weight of 25 to 29.9, and 'obese' by a BMI of 30 and above.

Researchers for the study included anyone who was obese. Further using these criteria, researchers looked at data from all 53 countries in the WHO European region, to compare recorded and projected figures for 2010 and
2030.

The research showed that 36% of men and 335 of women in the UK were to be obese in 2030 as compared with 26% of both sexes in 2010.