OBESITY AND THE ECONOMICS OF PREVENTION: FIT NOT FAT
KEY FACTS – SPAIN, UPDATE 2014
A.
ADULTS
1. Adults obesity rates are high in Spain compared to the OECD (Figure 1). One in 6 adults is
obese in Spain, and more than 1 in 2 is overweight (including obese). The latest data show that the
proportion of adults who are overweight has generally increased over recent years although at a
slower pace than foreseen by previous OECD projections.
Figure 1. Trends in the prevalence of overweight (including obesity) in adults, projections and
recent estimates, selected OECD countries
75%
- - - Past projection
New data points
70%
Mexico
65%
Australia
Rate of overweight
60%
55%
Canada
50%
USA
England
45%
Spain
40%
Italy
35%
France
30%
Switzerland
25%
1972
1976
1980
1984
1988
1992
Korea
1996
2000
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020
Year
Source: OECD estimates based on national health surveys.
Note: Measured height and weight in Australia, England, Korea, Mexico and USA; self-reported data in other
countries.
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2. Large social disparities in obesity exist in Spain in both men and women. Men with less
education in Spain are 1.6 times more likely to be obese than more educated men. Similarly,
women with less education are 2.4 times more likely to be obese than more educated women. The
prevalence of obesity has increased in the three different education groups since 2001 (Figure 2).
The gradient of social inequality in men has widened in recent years whereas it has remained
virtually unchanged in women.
Figure 2. Prevalence of obesity by education level in 2001 and 2011, men and women, Spain
Low education
Medium
High education
30%
Obesity rate
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
2001
2011
2001
Men
2011
Women
Source: OECD estimates based on the Spanish survey Encuesta Nacional de Salud
Note: Adjusted probabilities of being obesity for men and women aged 40 controlling for marital status, tobacco
smoking and working status.
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B.
CHILDREN
3. Child overweight rates are high too in Spain, in comparison to other OECD and key partner
countries (Figure 3). International data collated by the International Association for the Study of
Obesity show that 26% of boys and 24% of girls are overweight in Spain, compared with 23% of
boys and 21% of girls, on average, in OECD countries.
Figure 3. Measured overweight (including obesity) among children at different ages, 2010 or
nearest year
Boys
Greece
Italy
New Zealand
Slovenia
United States
Mexico
Hungary
Portugal
Chile
Spain
Canada
Korea
Israel
Finland
China
OECD33
Japan
Luxembourg
UK (England)
Australia
Ireland
India
Iceland
Germany
Switzerland
Austria
Russian Federation
Netherlands
Belgium
Poland
Denmark
Sweden
Estonia
Czech Republic
France
Slovak Republic
Brazil
Norway
Turkey
South Africa
Indonesia
Girls
32
23
8
0
10
34 36
34
34
38
44
30
30
2829
28
23
27 29
2627
24 26
2425
25
20
24
20
24
19
24
16
21 23
23
17
2223
22
26
22 24
21 23
19 21
21
13
20
20
17 19
18
18
17
17
17
15
14 17
17
11
16
20
16 18
16
16
1516
15
15
15
15
15
15
1415
13
19
11
29
11
20
30
40
50
% of children
Source: International Association for the Study of Obesity, 2013; Bös et al. (2004) for Luxembourg; and KNHANES
2011 for Korea.
Release: 27 May 2014. http://www.oecd.org/health/obesity-update.htm.
For more information, please contact: [email protected],
[email protected].
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