OBJECTIVES: Being overweight or obese constitutes one of the most important public health challenges of the 21st century as it is recognized as a major risk factor for various non-communicable diseases. The purpose of the study was to estimate the prevalence of overweight and obesity in the Greek adult population as well as the prevalence of common chronic diseases in these populations.

METHODS: Primary data were extracted from the 2017 health interview survey “Health and Welfare”, a survey conducted by the Dept. of Public Health Policy of the University of West Attica at regular intervals since 2002. The sample of the analysis consisted of 2003 adults aged 18 years or older, representative of the country’s population and stratified by age, gender, geographical region and degree of urbanization. The BMI was based on self-reported height and weight. The chronic conditions included in the analysis were heart attack/myocardial infarction, angina or coronary heart disease, stroke, asthma, cancer, COPD or emphysema or chronic bronchitis, arthritis or lupus or fibromyalgia, depression, diabetes and kidney disease.

RESULTS: The obese and the overweight amounted to 60.4% of the Greek adult population in 2017. 43.7% of obese and 60.8% of overweight population had a self-reported diagnosed chronic condition. In the overweight population, the prevalence of chronic conditions was 20.0% for diabetes, 16.3% for arthritis, lupus or fibromyalgia, 12.0% for a history of heart attack, angina (10.8%) and depression (9.2%). In addition, comorbidity was reported by 14.8% of obese and 20.1% of overweight population with a chronic condition.

CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of obese and overweight in Greece is high, which could lead to poor health outcomes, and increased pressure to the health system. A national action plan with multisectoral approach is needed in order to reduce the prevalence of obese and overweight and alleviate related chronic diseases morbidity.