Neither do most Swiss eat the recommended five portions of fruit and vegetables a day, according to a national survey on eating habits commissioned by the Federal Food Safety Office (BLV).

Of the 2,000 adults surveyed across the whole of Switzerland, 44 percent were found to be overweight, the BLV said in a statement.

Men were twice as likely to be overweight as women.

And only 13 percent of those surveyed ate the recommended five portions of fruit and veg a day, found the BLV.

Around a quarter managed between three and four portions a day, and 87 percent ate one or more portions.

While the figures were similar across the country, the survey did find one regional difference of note.

While only 13-14 percent of people in the German and French-speaking regions ate less than one portion of fruit and veg a day, that figure rose to 22 percent in the Italian-speaking region.

The people surveyed answered questions related to their eating habits and physical activity.

These findings are part of a larger survey conducted by Lausanne University on behalf of the BLV and the Federal Public Health Office.

Earlier this year another report found that a sixth of school students in three major Swiss cities were overweight, although numbers had fallen nearly three percent over the previous decade.

And in March Neuchâtel University announced a new centre to treat obesity, which one doctor told The Local was an “epidemic” in Switzerland.