OBESITY AND THE ECONOMICS OF PREVENTION: FIT NOT FAT

KEY FACTS SPAIN, UPDATE 2012 1. Adult obesity rates in Spain are higher than the OECD average, and child rates are amongst the highest in the OECD. Two out of 3 men are overweight and 1 in 6 people are obese in Spain. One in 3 children aged 13 to 14 are overweight. The latest data show that the proportion of adults who are overweight remained fairly stable since the early 2000s, with a mild increase in obesity.
75%
70%

- - - Past projection New data points

65% 60%

Rate of overweight

55% 50%

USA
45%

England Spain

Canada

40%

Italy
35% 30% 25% 1970

France Korea
1980 1990 2000 2010 2020

Year

2. Taking account of the most recent data, new projection bands for 2010-2020 indicate that overweight and obesity rates are expected to grow, at most, by 7% during that period.
70%

Rates of obesity and overweight

60% 50%
40% 30% 20% 10%

0% 1985

1990

1995
Overweight

2000 Year

2005

2010
Obesity

2015

2020

3. Social disparities in obesity are very large among Spanish women. Women with poor education in Spain are 3.2 times more likely to be overweight than more educated women. Disparities are
1

substantially smaller in men. The degree of socio-economic inequality has remained virtually unchanged in recent years.
5

Relative inequality index for overweight by education level

3
5.0

2
3.2 2.9 2.7 2.2 1.6 1.4 1.4 1.3 1.2 1.2 1.1 1.0 1.0 0.9 0.7 1.8 1.7 1.7 1.4 1.4 1.3

Men

Women

Released: 21 February 2012. For more information, consult http://www.oecd.org/health/prevention.