Overweight population up to 52% in Brazil

The number of overweight Brazilians is on the rise and stands today at 52% of the country's adult population. The rate is part of an official telephone-based survey on health risks referred to in its Portuguese acronym as Vigitel, released Wednesday (15) by the Ministry of Health. For the classification, experts calculate people's body mass index (BMI), based on their weight and height. BMIs within the 25 – 29.9 range are classified as overweight; 30 and more fall under obese.

Nine years ago, Brazil overweight rate was 43%—23% less than today's. The country's obesity rate, in turn, held steady, but the percentage of obese people aged 18 and above (17.9%) has the government concerned, even though this amount has not changed considerably in recent years.

According to the figures, males show the highest rate—overweight men stand at 56.5%, against 49.1% among women. As for obesity, no significant difference is detected. When age groups are compared, younger Brazilians report the best performance, with 38% of people weighing more than their ideal weight, whereas those aged 45 – 64 add up to more than 61%.

The survey further reveals that people with poorer schooling (from zero to eight years of school attendance) have a higher overweight rate: 58.9%. Among Brazilians who went to school for 12 years or more, the proportion is down to 45%. Obesity is also higher among those who studied for up to eight years (22.7%), and lower among people who had 12 years or more of education (12.3%).

Health Minister Arthur Chioro argued that the increase in the overweight rate should not be ignored, but he emphasized the stabilization trend in the number of obese people in the last three years. The ministry plans on reducing the 17% obesity rate to 15%, as recommended by the World Health Organization, the minister says.

Apart from the increase in the overweight rate, indicators reveal a higher risk of chronic diseases among Brazilians. Among the respondents, 20% said they have been diagnosed with high cholesterol. Women reported 22.2% and men 17.6%. Among people aged 55 or older, the rate goes beyond 35%.

In the study, 40,853 people aged 18 and above, from all of the country's capital cities, were interviewed by phone from February to December, 2014.

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira