Obesity Slows in OECD Countries: Trends & Social Disparities Update, Apuntes de Psicología

¡Descarga Obesity Slows in OECD Countries: Trends & Social Disparities Update y más Apuntes en PDF de Psicología solo en Docsity! OBESITY UPDATE 2012 The obesity epidemic slowed down in several OECD countries during the past three years. Rates grew less that previously projected, or did not grow at all, according to new data from ten OECD countries. Child obesity rates also stabilized in England, France, Korea and United States. However, rates remain high and social disparities in obesity are unabated. Many governments have stepped up efforts to tackle the root causes of obesity, embracing increasingly comprehensive strategies and involving communities and key stakeholders. There has been a new interest in the use of taxes on foods rich in fat and sugar, with several governments (e.g. Denmark, Finland, France, Hungary) passing new legislation in 2011. This policy brief presents an update of analyses of trends and social disparities in obesity originally presented in OECD’s report “Obesity and the Economics of Prevention: Fit not Fat”, published in 2010. Until 1980, fewer than one in ten people were obese. Since then, rates doubled or tripled and in 19 of 34 OECD countries the majority of the population is now overweight or obese. OECD projections suggest that more than two out of three people will be overweight or obese in some OECD countries by 2020. Three years on from the publication of the OECD report “Obesity and the economics of prevention: Fit not fat”, rates have increased less than, or in line with, projections in most countries for which new data have become available. The data provide strong evidence that the progression of the epidemic has effectively come to a halt for the past ten years in countries such as Korea (where obesity rates have stabilised at 3-4%), Switzerland (7-8%), Italy (8- 9%), Hungary (17-18%) and England (22-23%). There is, however, no sign of retrenchment of the epidemic, in any country. Rates remain very high in most of the OECD, and countries continue to experience a large burden from chronic diseases associated with obesity. The latest data show modest increases in obesity over the past decade in countries like Spain and France, in the order of 2-3%, and larger increases in Ireland, Canada and the United States (4-5%), although an even larger increase had been expected in the United States, based on previous OECD projections. These findings would seem to contradict the argument that economic recession might fuel obesity by making people’s diets less healthy. Figures 1 and 2 illustrate the progression of obesity and overweight rates, respectively, in seven OECD countries, along with previous OECD projections (dotted lines) for overweight. The prevalence of obesity today varies nearly tenfold among OECD countries, from a low of 4% in Japan and Korea, to 30% or more in the United States and Mexico. Current obesity rates in all OECD countries are shown in an appendix to this document. Height and weight have been increasing since the 18th century, as income, education and living conditions gradually improved over time. While weight gains were largely beneficial to the health and longevity of our ancestors, an alarming number of people have now crossed the line beyond which further gains are dangerous. Severely obese people die 8-10 years sooner than those of normal-weight, similar to smokers, with every 15 extra kilograms increasing risk of early death by approximately 30%. Obesity is estimated to be responsible for 1% to 3% of total health expenditure in most countries (5% to 10% in the United States) and costs will rise rapidly in coming years as obesity- related diseases set in. 2 Figure 1. Obesity rates 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 R at e o f o b es it y Year USA England Spain France Canada Korea Italy Switzerland Ireland Hungary Figure 2. Overweight rates 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50% 55% 60% 65% 70% 75% 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 R at e o f o ve rw ei gh t Year USA England Spain France Canada Korea Italy - - - Past projection New data points Child obesity New data on child obesity from four OECD countries (England, France, Korea and United States) confirm and possibly strengthen the message emerging from analyses of adult obesity. Rates evolved according to previous OECD projections or, more often, below those projections, in all four countries. Child obesity rates have effectively remained stable (at 6-8%) over the past 20 years in France. The same is true in the other three countries during the past ten years, although with some fluctuations in the United States (Figure 3). However, for child obesity as well as adult obesity, there is no clear sign of retrenchment of the epidemic, despite major policy efforts focused on children in some of the countries concerned. Figure 3. Child obesity, United States 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 R at e o f o b e si ty a n d o ve rw e ig h t Year Past OECD 2010 projections and new survey data point for 2009 Boys obesity Girls obesity Boys overweight Girls overweight Estimates of the prevalence of overweight (including obesity) in OECD and emerging countries among school-aged children aged 5-17 years, collated by the International Association for the Study of Obesity, are available in an appendix to this document. One-in-five children are affected by excess body weight across all countries, and in Greece, the United States and Italy the figure is closer to one third. Only in China, Korea and Turkey are 10% or less of children overweight. In most countries, boys have higher rates of overweight and obesity than do girls. Girls tend to have higher rates in Nordic countries (Sweden, Norway, Denmark), as well as in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Australia. Social disparities in obesity Women are more often obese than men, but male obesity rates have been growing faster than female rates in most OECD countries. Obesity is more common among the poor and the less educated. In several OECD countries, women with little education are two to three times more likely to be overweight than more educated women, but smaller or no disparities exist for men. These disparities remained remarkably stable over the past decade. Even the latest data show no meaningful change in inequality indexes like the one reported in Figure 4 in the past three years, reflecting the failure of government policies aimed at protecting vulnerable groups. Social disparities are also present in children (both boys and girls) in England, France and the United States, but not in Korea. Poor health goes hand in hand with poor job prospects for many obese people. Employers 5 SUMMARY OF KEY FACTS ON OBESITY AND THE ECONOMICS OF PREVENTION  At least one in two people is now overweight or obese in over half of OECD countries. Rates are projected to increase further and in some countries two out of three people will be obese within ten years.  The latest data show a slowdown of the epidemic in several countries, with virtually stable rates in Korea, Switzerland, Italy, Hungary and England over the past ten years, and mild increases in France and Spain. However, larger increases were recorded in Ireland, Canada and United States.  An obese person incurs 25% higher health expenditures than a person of normal weight in any given year. Obesity is responsible for 1-3% of total health expenditures in most OECD countries (5-10% in the United States). Obese people earn up to 18% less than non-obese people.  Poorly educated women are two to three times more likely to be overweight than those with high levels of education, but almost no disparities are found for men. OECD countries have made no progress in tackling these disparities.  A comprehensive prevention strategy would avoid, every year, 155 000 deaths from chronic diseases in Japan, 75 000 in Italy, 70 000 in England, 55 000 in Mexico and 40 000 in Canada.  The annual cost of such strategy would be USD 12 per capita in Mexico, USD 19 in Japan and England, USD 22 in Italy and USD 32 in Canada. The cost per life year gained through prevention is less than USD 20 000 in these five countries. Are food taxes regressive? Given that people with lower incomes spend more, in proportion, on food than do people with higher incomes, the former will be hit more heavily by a tax. However, OECD work showed that those with lower incomes will benefit disproportionately from the health gains deriving from a tax on unhealthy foods. How should governments use tax revenues? Revenues from taxes on unhealthy foods can be substantial. These offer invaluable opportunities either for attenuating any regressive impacts, or for magnifying the public health effects of the taxes, e.g. by coupling them with subsidies on healthy foods or with targeted health education campaigns. In France and Hungary, at least part of the revenues from the new taxes will contribute to financing health and social security expenditures. 6 Appendix: obesity rates in the OECD and beyond Source: OECD Health Data 2011; national sources for non-OECD countries. Obesity rates among adults, 2009 (or nearest year) Korea Japan Sw itzerland Norw ay Italy Sw eden France Netherlands Austria Poland Denmark Israel Belgium Germany Turkey Portugal Spain Slovenia OECD Slovak Republic Czech Republic Estonia Greece Hungary Iceland Finland Luxembourg Ireland United Kingdom Canada Australia Chile New Zealand Mexico United States South Africa India Indonesia China Brazil Russian Fed. 8.1 10.0 10.3 11.2 11.2 11.8 12.4 12.5 13.4 13.8 13.8 14.7 15.2 15.4 16.0 16.4 16.9 18.0 18.1 19.5 20.1 2.1 2.4 2.9 13.9 16.2 18.1 3.8 3.9 16.9 17.0 20.2 22.1 23.0 23.0 24.2 24.6 25.1 26.5 30.0 33.8 010203040 Self-reported data Measured data % of adult population 4.1 3.5 7.7 8.0 9.3 10.7 11.5 12.4 12.7 12.5 13.1 14.4 14.4 13.8 18.5 16.1 14.7 15.8 17.2 16.7 17.0 18.3 18.5 18.3 21.3 21.1 19.0 24.0 23.9 23.2 23.6 30.7 27.0 34.5 35.5 2.8 3.6 3.4 14.0 11.8 27.4 3.6 4.3 8.6 11.0 11.3 11.7 10.9 11.2 12.0 12.6 13.7 13.2 13.1 15.7 12.3 14.6 17.3 17.0 16.6 17.1 18.0 17.5 17.7 20.8 18.9 19.3 24.5 22.0 22.1 25.2 25.5 19.2 26.0 24.2 32.2 1.3 1.1 2.4 13.7 20.1 8.8 0 10 20 30 40 Females Males % of adult population Statlink: http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/888932523956 7 Source: International Association for the Study of Obesity (2011). Children aged 5-17 years who are overweight (including obese), latest available estimates Girls Boys Korea Turkey Poland Sw itzerland Japan Norw ay France Denmark Slovak Republic Czech Republic Germany Netherlands Finland Sw eden OECD Portugal Spain Australia Slovenia Iceland Hungary Canada United Kingdom Chile New Zealand Mexico Italy Russian Fed. Brazil United States Greece China South Africa India 9.9 10.3 12.4 13.1 14.4 14.7 14.9 15.2 16.2 16.9 17.6 17.9 19.1 19.5 21.4 21.6 22.9 24.0 24.4 25.5 25.9 26.1 26.6 27.1 28.8 29.0 30.9 35.9 37.0 4.5 17.7 18.3 19.8 21.1 01020304050 % of children aged 5-17 years 16.2 11.3 16.3 16.7 16.2 12.9 13.1 14.1 17.5 24.6 22.6 14.7 23.6 17.0 22.9 23.5 32.9 22.0 28.7 22.0 25.5 28.9 22.7 28.6 28.2 28.1 32.4 35.0 45.0 5.9 13.6 20.6 24.2 23.1 0 10 20 30 40 50 % of children aged 5-17 years Statlink: http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/888932523994 Contacts OECD Media office Helen Fisher  +33-1-4524 8097  helen.fisher@oecd.org OECD Health Division Franco Sassi – Senior Health Economist and main author of the report  +33-1-4524 9239  franco.sassi@oecd.org Marion Devaux – Statistician and co-author  +33-1-4524 8261  marion.devaux@oecd.org Useful links OECD Obesity website: www.oecd.org/health/fitnotfat OECD Economics of prevention project: www.oecd.org/health/prevention OECD work on Health: www.oecd.org/health