Three-fourths of Norway's men to be overweight within next 15 years

More than three-fourths of Norwegian men will be overweight within the next 15 years as lifestyles are changing in the Nordic country that is currently one of Europe's least overweight countries, local media reported on Wednesday.

A new WHO report, set to be presented at a European Congress on Obesity in Prague, shows that 76 percent of Norwegian men will be overweight by 2030, up from 58 percent in 2010, digital news publisher The Local reported.

Norwegian women do better than the men. Only 53 percent are set to be overweight in 2030, but that still represents a jump from 38 percent in 2010.

Norway is currently one of Europe's least overweight countries, with men ranking 20th out of the 34 European and former Soviet Union countries surveyed, and women ranking 25th.

"First of all, people's lifestyles are changing -- they are becoming sedentary and their eating habits are also changing," The Local quoted Peter Bergsten, a professor of medicine and cellular biology at Uppsala University, as saying.

Bergsten is leading a research on some of the other possible factors behind growing obesity around Europe, including genetic predisposition to weight gain and hormonal imbalances.

"Migration to the EU and between different countries is also an issue because it is making regional patterns less clear," he added.

Ireland is currently the fattest nation in the European Union. Some 89 percent of Irish men will be overweight by 2030, and nearly half obese, the latest WHO study predicts.