sportsdietpain

Since my last blog was so popular and so many people liked it, I wanted to do a part 2 on it. But this part 2 is going to be a little different. It´s going to be only about facts and statistics. Most people seem to remember the information better when given only numbers. Remember, all this data was given by the International Chair on Cardiometabolic Risk.

1. 1.5 Billion Adults are overweight – 500 million of them are OBESE. These numbers are projected to reach 2.3 Billion and 700 million, respectively, by 2015.
2. The childhood prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity increased from 4.2% in 1990 to 6.7% in 2010, with 43 million children estimated as overweight or obese in 2010!!
3. The International Diabetes Federation estimated that in 2012 there were over 366 million people worldwide with type 2 diabetes. By 2030 this is projected to reach 552 million.
4. SSBs are sugar-sweetened beverages. They include the full spectrum of soft drinks, fruit drinks, and energy and vitamin water drinks containing added sugars. Beverages that do not contain added sugar, such as 100% fruit juice are not considered SSBs. SSBs offer only ¨empty¨ calories and provide almost no nutritional value. A typical 12-ounce (355mil) soda contains about 35-40g sugar and 140-160Kcal.
5. Numerous studies have linked consumption of SSBs to weight gain and obesity in children and adults. In one study it was seen that for each additional serving of SSBs consumed each day, the odds of becoming obese increased by 60% after 1.5 years!!
6. In another study individuals with the highest SSB intake (usually1-2servings/day) had a 26% greater risk of developing diabetes compared to those with the lowest intake (none or less than 1 serving per month).
7. One serving (12oz) daily increment in SSB consumption was associated with a 22% increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
8. Women who drank more than 2 servings of SSBs had a 40% higher risk of heart attack or death from heart disease than women who rarely drank sugary beverages.

Now I will give stats about different European countries. These stats are from the World Health Organization. According to the WHO, you are overweight if your BMI is equal or greater than 25, and you are obese if your BMI is equal or greater than 30. BMI stands for Body Mass Index. Remember in my last post that, although the BMI is important, it is more important where that fat is distributed.

  Overweight                                                 Obesity

1. Turkey 63.6%                                         1. Turkey 29.3%
2. Czech Republic 61.7%                            2. Czech Republic 28.7%
3. Malta 61.6%                                           3. Malta 26.6%
4. United Kingdom 61.5%                          4. Israel 25.5%
5. Ireland 60.9%                                         5. United Kingdom 24.9%
6. Israel 60.1%                                           5. Russian Federation 24.9%
7. Spain 58.2%                                          6. Ireland 24.5%
8. Russian Federation 57.8%                       7. Spain 24.1%
9. Luxembourg 56.7%                                 8. Luxembourg 23.4%
10. Poland 55.7%                                         9. Poland 23.2%
11. Portugal 55.3%                                       10. Portugal 21.6 %
12. Germany 54.8%                                   11. Germany 21.3%
13. Finland 53%                                           12. Finland 19.9%
14. Belgium 51.5%                                     13. Belgium 19.1%
15. Sweden 50%                                          14. Austria 18.3 %
16. Austria 49.6%                                         15. Greece 17.5%
17. Italy 49.2%                                             16. Italy 17.2%
18. Greece 49.1%                                        17. Sweden 16.6 %
19. Denmark 48.4%                                     18. Denmark 16.2%
20. Netherlands 47.8%                                 18. Netherlands 16.2%
21. France 45.9%                                         19. France 15.6%
22. Switzerland 44.3%                                  20. Switzerland 14.9%

And the last stats, and probably the most surprising, are the ones that talk about the prevalence of obesity and overweight children among 7 years old. I only have the stats for 12 countries but it is still pretty interesting. This study was done in 2008.

Overweight

Boys                                                    Girls

1. Italy- 50% are overweight.                                 42%
2. Portugal- 41% are overweight                            37%
3. Malta- 33% are overweight                                29.5%
4. Ireland-32% are overweight                               28%
5. Slovenia-32% are overweight                             29%
6. Belgium-24.7% are overweight                           25.7%
7. Norway- 22.% are overweight                            22.8%
8. Sweden-  22.4% are overweight                         21.5%
9. Czech Republic- 21% are overweight                 20.5%

   Obesity

1. Italy- 27% boys,                                               17.5% girls
2. Portugal-17% boys                                           12% girls
3. Slovenia-16% boys                                           10.3% girls
4. Malta-14.9% boys                                             12% girls
5. Ireland-12%boys                                               7% girls
6. Belgium- 9% boys                                              7.8% girls
7. Czech Republic- 9% boys                                  6% girls
8. Norway- 6% boys                                              5.5% girls
9. Sweden- 6% boys                                              5.2% girls

It is amazing, looking at these stats, that 50% of the population of most European countries are overweight. And that in countries like Spain and Portugal, where the Mediterranean diet comes from, and experts say it´s the best, over 55% of the population are overweight!! But what is more scary and amazing are the stats about the kids. Kids are supposed to be running and playing around all day, but society is changing that. Kids spent more time watching TV, playing video games or at the computer, than actually being outside. They are fed junk food all the time and, what is more worrying, a lot of people consider that normal, they say ¨they are kids, they are supposed to eat those candy’s, chips and donuts¨. I have actually experienced that first hand with family members, where I refused to buy ¨junk food¨ for my nephew and gotten told that ¨I was being mean and that they are just kids¨. The ¨junk food companies¨ have done such a good job on advertisement that it´s ¨normal¨ to give your kid a 12 ounce soda with 35-40 grams of sugar, or candy, or chips, or frozen pizza., and that is exactly what parents are doing, not realizing the impacts that those foods have on kids and on society.

Hopefully by seeing these stats people will start to change the way they think and realize what a huge problem society is facing. So until next time: Eat well, drink better, and move more!

Related articles

• International Chair on Cardiometabolic Risk (sports-diet-pain.com)
• What Is Causing Childhood Obesity? (epicahealth.com)
• Comparison of Diabetes Risk Score Estimates and Cardiometabolic Risk Profiles in a Middle-Aged Irish Population (plosone.org)