Tomislav Sokol· PPE

Nuanced

Croatia has the highest share of overweight persons in the European Union.

Omissions

• The claim conflates 'overweight' (BMI 25-29.9) with 'overweight and obese' (BMI ≥25). Croatia's ranking varies depending on which metric is used.
• According to the Eufic source, Romania, Poland, Croatia, and Slovakia share the highest prevalence, suggesting Croatia is among the highest but not uniquely the highest.
• The data used is from 2019 or earlier (the Eurostat PDF appears to reference 2019 data), which was outdated by the 2026-03-12 claim date.
• The MEP cited Eurostat but the specific claim about being 'the highest' appears to come from secondary journalistic sources rather than direct Eurostat publications.

Sources

• PrimaryEurostat - Overweight and obesity BMI statistics (PDF)In Croatia, the share of obesity among males was 20.8% and 12.5% among females
• AcademicMDPI - Healthcare JournalIn Croatia, 64.8% are classified as overweight or obese, placing Croatia among the EU countries with highest rates
• SecondaryEuractivCroats are described as 'the most overweight nation in the European Union' with annual healthcare costs of almost 3% of budget
• SecondaryEufic - European Food Information CouncilRomania, Poland, Croatia, and Slovakia having the highest prevalence of overweight and obesity