» Please note that there are 2 ObÉpi surveys more recent than this one. The 2012 ObÉpi Roche survey and the 2009 ObÉpi Roche survey
A national epidemiological survey (in France) on overweight and obesity is regularly carried out. Since 1997, the company Roche (pharmaceutical laboratory) has carried out this kind of survey every 3 years thanks to the collaboration of several doctors or professors (1) . The survey is carried out with various partners, in particular INSERM but also TNS HealthCare SOFRES which provides the database of individuals to be interviewed as part of the survey.
In 2006, this was therefore the 4th edition of this survey . The results presented to you on this page do not take into account the results of the following years (2009 and 2012). If you want more up-to-date information on obesity, check out our more recent files (you can also return to our main obesity-related statistics page ).
OBJECTIVES AND METHODOLOGY
The objectives of the survey are multiple. Among these objectives, we find in particular:
- To improve the appreciation of the prevalence of overweight and obesity
- Evaluate the respective evolutions of these two phenomena
- Raise the awareness of public authorities and clinicians about this major public health problem
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 2006 survey was carried out from January 27 to March 16, 2006 among a sample of 20,000 households, ie 40,052 individuals in total (people aged 15 and over), representative of the French population. A household represents a family living under one roof (including single people).
The results presented are those:
» 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.
13,263 households returned their form, which makes a response rate per household of 66.3% and which represents 23,747 individuals aged over 15 and over. It is therefore on this fairly representative panel that the figures are presented. If we consider the response rate per individual (different from that per household being that a household can contain one or more individuals), then the response rate is 62.1%. This figure has been declining since 1997.
| Evolution of the response rate | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Period | 1997 | 2000 | 2003 | 2006 |
| Response rate (by individuals) | 77.1% | 69.0% | 66.9% | 62.1% |
Although the study does not indicate the reason for such a drop, it nevertheless indicates that this drop is found in other panel surveys carried out by TNS and “ is not specific to the ObÉpi-Roche 2006 study ”.
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).
RESULTS AND FIGURES TO REMEMBER
In 2006, 12.4% of French people were obese and 29.2% were overweight
Since the first survey in 1997, obesity has increased by 54% since in 2006 there were 5,491,000 French people affected by obesity (against 3,566,000 in 1997). This represents a relative increase, per year, of 5.4% in obesity in France between 1997 and 2006.
In 2006, the state of the corpulence of individuals was as follows:
| Distribution of the corpulence of the French in 2006 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Category | thinness | Normal | Overweight | Obesity mod. | Severe obesity | Obesity morb. |
| BMI | < 18.5 | 18.5 < BMI < 25 | 25 < BMI < 30 | 30 < BMI < 35 | 35 < BMI < 40 | BMI > 40 |
| % Pop. | 4.9% | 53.5% | 29.2% | 9.4% | 2.2% | 0.8% |
Graphically, here is a representation:
The increase in obesity between the survey we are talking about (in 2009) and the one that preceded it (in 2006) is the highest ever observed since the first ObÉpi survey (in 1997). The increase is 14.5% in 3 years. A substantial number. In 3 years the French population has grown by 0.9 kg on average according to survey figures.
| Increase in the number of obese people in France between 1997 and 2009 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Period | 1997 | 1997-2000 | 2000-2003 | 2003-2006 | 2006-2009 |
| Evolution | / | +18.8% | +17.8% | +10.1% | +10.7% |
| Obese (2) | 8.5% | 10.1% | 11.9% | 13.1% | 14.5% |
The rise in obesity between the survey we are talking about (in 2006) and the one that preceded it (in 2003) is the highest ever observed since the first ObÉpi survey (in 1997). The increase is 13.1% in 3 years.
| Increase in the number of obese people in France between 1997 and 2006 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Period | 1997 | 1997-2000 | 2000-2003 | 2003-2006 |
| Evolution | / | +18.8% | +17.8% | +10.1% |
| Obese (BMI > 30) | 8.5% | 10.1% | 11.9% | 13.1% |
More precisely, here is the evolution for each segment of category of corpulence.
It is above all the increase in morbid obesity (BMI greater than 40) that is worrying. Hardly visible on the graph above, it was 0.3% in 1997. In 2006, this figure is almost three times higher, it is 0.8%. The increase is considered “ significant ” by the study. Regarding people in a situation of thinness, the rate has been more or less stable since 1997, which leads to the conclusion that there is no increase in the frequency of thinness in France. “Thinness” is moreover mentioned relatively little in the ObÉpi surveys in general (in the 2006 ObÉpi survey there are only 3 occurrences of the term thinness against 128 occurrences of the term obesity ).
Since the BMI of individuals is on the rise, it is obviously that the average weight is on the rise. You will find below the evolution of the average weight of French people since the first ObÉpi survey until 2006.
| Evolution of the average weight of French adults | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Period | 1997 | 2000 | 2003 | 2006 |
| Average weight | 68.4±13.7kg | 69.2±14.1kg | 70.1±14.6kg | 70.5±14.8kg |
| Increase | / | 800g | 900g | 400g |
Since the first survey, the French (adults) have therefore taken 2.1 kg on average.
NOTABLE DIFFERENCES BY REGION IN FRANCE
Nord-Pas-de-Calais is the most affected region, which was already the case three years earlier.
In 2006 the rate of obesity in this region was 19.2% in 2009, ie a prevalence almost 35% higher than the average. The least affected region is the Midi-Pyrénées region, with an obesity rate of 10.10%.
| Obesity rate by region between 1997 and 2006 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region | 1997 | 2000 | 2003 | 2006 |
| Alsace | 9.10% | 12.20% | 12.20% | 16.20% |
| Aquitaine | 8.50% | 9.70% | 11.00% | 12.70% |
| Auvergne | 11.10% | 10.20% | 14.40% | 13.90% |
| Lower Normandy | 9.40% | 8.70% | 11.90% | 14.20% |
| Burgundy | 9.80% | 9.80% | 12.00% | 11.70% |
| Brittany | 6.70% | 8.50% | 9.40% | 10.50% |
| Center | 9.80% | 10.70% | 13.60% | 13.70% |
| Champagne-Ardenne | 8.50% | 13.60% | 16.00% | 14.20% |
| Franche-Comte | 6.30% | 9.30% | 10.60% | 15.30% |
| Upper Normandy | 10.90% | 14.80% | 12.90% | 16.70% |
| Languedoc-Roussillon | 10.30% | 11.00% | 13.10% | 13.90% |
| Limousin | 8.10% | 9.40% | 14.00% | 14.70% |
| Loire | 6.80% | 7.60% | 10.00% | 12.20% |
| Lorraine | 10.50% | 12.50% | 12.10% | 14.10% |
| Midi-Pyrenees | 7.80% | 8.30% | 9.60% | 10.10% |
| Nord Pas de Calais | 13.50% | 14.30% | 16.00% | 19.20% |
| PACA | 6.80% | 10.00% | 10.60% | 11.50% |
| Picardy | 9.10% | 12.70% | 15.70% | 14.40% |
| Poitou-Charentes | 8.80% | 7.90% | 12.10% | 12.80% |
| Parisian region | 7.00% | 8.90% | 11.90% | 12.10% |
| Rhone-Alps | 7.90% | 9.00% | 9.80% | 10.60% |
| [France] | 8.50% | 10.10% | 11.90% | 13.10% |
NOTABLE DIFFERENCES BY AGE IN FRANCE
The distribution of obesity between 1997 and 2006 in France is as follows: