Turks growing taller, heavier, study finds

Successive generations of Turkish citizens have grown taller and heavier, according to the results of a survey conducted by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) in 2010.

The average Turkish male measures 172.6 cm in height and 75.8 kg in weight, while the average Turkish female is 161.4 cm tall and weighs 66.9 kg, the study found.

Young and middle-aged Turkish citizens are taller and heavier than the country’s average, indicating that successive generations have grown in bulk and stature, according to the study.

The combined average height irrespective of gender turned out to be 167.5 cm for the age group between 15 and 24, 168.8 cm for those between 25 and 34 years old and 167.8 cm for those between 35 and 44.

The average Turkish citizen, on the other hand, measures 167.2 cm in height and weighs 71.5 kg, according to the study.

Meanwhile, the study also revealed that some 16.9 percent of the country’s population is obese, while another 33 percent of Turkish citizens were found to be overweight, according to their relative body mass index, which is determined by a person’s height and weight.

Great Britain leads Europe in terms of obesity, with a rate of some 24.5 percent. The Irish and Maltese rank immediately underneath the Britons in obesity rates, with 23 and 22.3 percent, respectively. Romanians, Swiss and Italians, on the other hand, are the fittest Europeans, as less than 10 percent of their populations are officially classified as obese.