Study shows that almost half of all Brazilians are overweight

A study on risk factors and health of the Brazilian population released by the Ministry of Health found that Brazilians have gotten fatter since the last such study in 2006. The study, known as Vigitel (“Vigilância de Fatores de Risco e Proteção para Doenças Crônicas por Inquérito Telefônico”), discovered that the percentage of Brazilians who are overweight rose from 42.7% in 2006 to 48.5% in 2011. Those who are obese rose during the same period from 11.4% to 15.8%.

The study conducted telephone interviews with 54,000 adults in all the country’s capital cities, including Brasilia.

Obesity and overweight are problems for both men and women. In 2006, 47.2% of men and 38.5% of women were overweight. In 2011, the percentages with weight problems rose in both groups: 52.6% of men and 44.7% of women were overweight.

Among men, weight problems begin early with 29.4% of them overweight between the ages of 18 and 24. That percentage almost doubles in the next age group, 25 to 34 years of age, reaching 55%. And when they reach the age group 35 to 45 years of age, 63% of men are overweight.

The same thing happens with women; that is, as they get older, there are more problems with weight. By the time they are between the ages of 45 and 54, 55.9% of women are overweight.

The same pattern takes place with regard to obesity, reaching almost 25% of men and women after they are over the age of 45.

According to the secretariat of “Vigilancia em Saúde” (the equivalent of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), Jarbas Barbosa, the objective of the study is to accompany the habits of the Brazilian population and subsidize public policies.