Report: British Girls are Europe's Most Overweight

British girls are the most overweight in Europe and rank in the top 30 worldwide, according to a comprehensive study published Thursday.

Some 29.2 percent of British girls aged below 19 are classified as obese or overweight, the 27th-worst record in the world, according to the University of Washington study published in Lancet.

John Newton, chief knowledge officer at the government agency Public Health England, blamed the “worrying” increase partly on fast-food culture.

“We have to look at the environment in which people are living, and the constant pressure to eat unhealthy food means things are particularly a problem for girls more than boys,” he said.

“Speaking as the father of a teenage daughter, girls are particularly prone to peer pressure.”