Ukraine has the most obese infants in the world, according to the first ever report to track the issue by country.

Figures from the World Obesity Federation (WOF) show more than a quarter (26.5 percent) of infants in Ukraine are obese and four other European countries make up the top 10 – Montenegro (22.3 percent); Georgia (19.9 percent); Bosnia and Herzegovina (17.4 percent); and Albania (16.4 percent).

The WOF's Atlas of Childhood Obesity charts the issue in 191 countries and classes infants as those aged from zero to five. While European countries feature highly in that category, they are absent from the top 20 nations for child obesity (those aged between five and nine) and from the top 20 for adolescents (those aged between 10 and 19). In both categories Pacific Island nations lead the way: the Cook Islands, with 40.7 percent of its children obese; and Nauru, with 32.3 of its adolescents classed as obese.

The report also made some worrying projections – notably that there will be 250 million obese children around the world by 2030 if the current trajectory continues, with China and India driving the increase. The WOF's figures show by next year, there will be 150 million obese children globally and this will soar over the next decade.