Obesity in Italy has been increasingly cited as a major health issue in recent years.
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Overall, the Italians, along with the French and the Swiss, are considered among the slimmest people in Europe on average. In Europe, Italy was the only country where the average weight dropped.
Causes
Obesity rates in Italian two-year-olds are the highest in Europe with a rate of 42%. Causes are lack of a Mediterranean diet and lifestyle choices such as exercise and getting enough sleep.
Effects
Several studies have shown that obese men tend to have a lower sperm count, fewer rapidly mobile sperm and fewer progressively motile sperm compared to normal-weight men.
Programs
Scientists from the University of Verona designed a new type of park to help deal with obesity in Italian children. The main differences is there's an adult trainer in charge, the children are following a series of organised exercises and all the children are under 6 years old. The cost of the playground was $250,000.