The 2008 crisis favored the resumption of obesity
The economic crisis that has been raging since 2008 has forced families to opt for a diet that favors inexpensive products rich in saturated fat. This mode of consumption has thus favored a 2% increase in obesity in France.
France but not only
France, of course, but all of Europe is affected with mainly Spain and Switzerland as well as, across the Atlantic, Mexico, Australia. In these countries, the obesity rate has increased by 2 to 3% since the beginning of the economic crisis which started in 2008 in the United States.
According to the OECD, in France, in 2010, almost 13% of people suffered from obesity. Figures which correspond to those recorded by the last national ObÉpi-Roche survey. A rate which for France remains “reasonable” when we know that at this same period in other countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the figures were much higher (and still are ). today).
But despite this, it is an almost general increase that must be noted, as shown by the graph below.
Sad findings
It is necessary that the public authorities take these parameters into account and continue the campaigns in order to slow down the progression of obesity which is becoming more and more severe.
Michèle Cecchini, health expert at the OECD (1) , must bring to the European Congress of Bulgaria, this sad observation: the economic crisis, in the member countries of the EU, has favored the resumption of the obesity epidemic. . In the lines of Figaro.fr (2) , the newspaper recalls that obese people suffering from severe obesity ( that is to say whose Body Mass Index is greater than 40 ) die on average 10 years earlier than people at normal weight.
The crisis, unemployment, the decline in confidence in governments… divert consumers from too expensive fruits and vegetables. People fall back on pasta or industrialized products . These foods are either unsuitable for a sedentary life or generally not very nutritious . And above all, they are less expensive. Between 2007 and 2009 in the United States, it was found that each increase of 1% in the unemployment rate resulted in a fall of more than 5.5% in the consumption of plants.
A specific segment of the affected population
This epidemic mainly affects people of low socio-economic status with low levels of education and schooling. Yet obesity affects all social classes and more specifically women. The OECD specifies that one in five children and more than half of adults have a BMI over 30.
The organization emphasizes the fact that this scourge has highly negative consequences on the economy and health. It should be known that obesity in itself if it is harmful, unsightly and disabling is nothing compared to the chronic pathologies that it generates.
Thus, it exposes an increasing number of people to diabetes, heart or respiratory diseases, cancer, etc. However, the Tribune (3) in a recent article confirms that the rate of obese people is no longer on the rise in countries such as Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Here, the OECD calls on its states to take this information into account with interest, which is not really new, and to redouble their efforts in their health policy to fight against overweight. The good news is that information campaigns have reduced obesity in children and adolescents, but adults are turning a deaf ear to public health messages.
Stephen Paul is the lead author and founder of My Health Sponsor. Holder of a diploma in health and well-being coaching with more than 200 articles in the field of health, he makes it a point of honor to offer advice based on reliable information, based on scientific research, and verified by health professionals.