The “ObÉpi” survey is a national epidemiological survey on overweight and obesity .
Conducted under the direction of an independent scientific committee, this survey is one of the most publicized in France. This notoriety comes from the quality of the information produced, from the methodology but also comes from a certain asset of this survey: its longevity and its durability. This survey has been carried out every three years since 1997 (date of the first survey). This makes it an excellent reference for monitoring average body size in France.
The 2012 survey was carried out in collaboration with INSERM ( National Institute of Health and Medical Research ), Roche ( medical research laboratory ), Pitié Salpêtrière Hospital and Kantar Health ( a company that performs, on a global scale, consulting and marketing analysis, particularly in the service of the pharmaceutical industries and the medical sector ).
OBJECTIVES AND METHODOLOGY
The objectives of the survey are multiple. Among these objectives, we find in particular:
- To establish a history of overweight and obesity since 1997
- Establish a clear assessment of overweight and obesity in 2012
As a reminder, an individual is considered overweight if their BMI (Body Mass Index) is greater than 25. The individual is obese if their BMI is greater than 30. The methodology used by the survey relies heavily on this Body Mass Index Bodily, since 1997. You can calculate your own BMI by clicking on this link to find out in which bracket you are.
CONTEXT OF THE SURVEY
The ObÉpi 2012 survey was conducted from January to March 2012 with a sample of 39,538 individuals in total (people aged 15 and over), representative of the French population. This figure corresponds to the sample that was used during the 2009 survey, and is even a little higher (38,904 individuals in total for the year 2009).
The results that were officially presented on October 16, 2012 are:
» Adults aged 18 and over, from this sample (individuals aged 15 to 17 are therefore not taken into account).
People who (obviously) responded, because not everyone responded.
14,705 households returned their form (compared to 14,763 in 2009), which makes a response rate of 73.5% (compared to 73.8% in 2009) and which represents 25,714 individuals aged over 18 . It is therefore on this fairly representative panel that the figures are presented.
The survey is carried out by simple post: a questionnaire is sent, and the person answers it alone, at home (by returning the questionnaire by post). Since 2009, the return rate has been significantly improved because there are now gift points which are automatically awarded to people who respond. However, these gift points only have a very symbolic value.
RESULTS AND FIGURES TO REMEMBER
The survey is relatively provided in terms of results. If you wish to consult all the results of the investigation, you can refer to the sources and references in this dossier, which will direct you to the official report (1) .
The average weight of the French population has increased, on average, by 3.6 kg in 15 years (between 1997 and 2012) while the average height, over the same period, has only increased by 0.7 cm. Regarding the waist circumference, the increase, still over the same period, is 5.3cm (90.5cm average waist circumference in 2012, against 85.2cm in 1997).
The rise in obesity is less significant between 2009 and 2012 than in previous studies. However, there is still an increase, increasing the obesity rate from 14.5% to 15.0% in France (the official report also considers this difference to be “statistically insignificant ”). Below is the increase in obesity between each of the different surveys since 1997.
| Evolution of the response rate | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Period | 1997 | 1997-2000 | 2000-2003 | 2003-2006 | 2006-2009 | 2009-2012 |
| Evolution | / | +18.8% | +17.8% | +10.1% | +10.7% | +3.4% |
| Obese (2) | 8.5% | 10.1% | 11.9% | 13.1% | 14.5% | 15.0% |
Even if the increase is less significant than in previous years, there has been a real rise in obesity in France since the start of the ObÉpi surveys.
The prevalence of obesity affects women more (15.7%) than men (14.3%).
Interesting observation: the prevalence of obesity is inversely proportional to the size of the agglomeration. This means that large cities are the cities with the lowest obesity rates, unlike small towns which are more affected by this epidemic.
Nord-Pas de Calais is the most affected region with 21.3% obesity rate. If you would like to test your various knowledge of this ObÉpi-Roche survey, we have provided you with a Quiz on obesity in France in 2012 .