Over 60 per cent of Maltese are overweight or obese

Thirty-eight per cent of the population, particularly women, say reading was their prime hobby, according to the National Statistics office.

The latest official lifestyle survey shows that travel is the main leisure activity of 26 per cent of the Maltese while home decoration proved a favourite pastime among one-fifth of the population.

Twenty-one per cent mentioned internet browsing. Restaurants were found to be the most frequented places by 79 per cent of adults, followed by cinemas, sports events, bars, clubs and discos.

Sixty-two per cent of respondents said they consider themselves to be physically healthy.

It also emerged that 84 per cent visited a doctor in the year before the survey and half the adult population visited a dentist. Nearly 10 per cent on the other hand said they had visited none.

The survey moreover found that, on average, a Maltese adult weighs 72.5 kilograms, varying from 65.9 kilograms for women to 79.4 kilograms for men. Some three per cent of the adult population is underweight and 62 per cent are either overweight or obese.

It was estimated that the average height of the population is 165.3 centimetres.

On a gender level, the average height in respect of women is 159.7 centimetres compared to the average man's 171.2 centimetres.