Young people are more obese, anxious and abusing alcohol – 06/29/2023 – Health

Young Brazilians are more obese, abusing more alcoholic beverages and anxious, show unprecedented data from a telephone survey carried out across the country and released this Thursday (29).

The rise in obesity is what is most impressive. In 2022, 9% of the population aged between 18 and 24 had a BMI (Body Mass Index) equal to or greater than 30 kg/cm², which configures obesity. In 2023, this percentage rose to 17.1%. That is, a jump of 90%.

Almost a third of these young people (31.6%) have also received a medical diagnosis of anxiety and report abusive alcohol consumption (32.6%) in the 30 days before the interview —four drinks or more for women, and five drinks or more for men on the same occasion. In 2022, the prevalence was 25.8%.

The figures are from the second edition of Covitel 2023 (Telephone Survey of Risk Factors for Chronic Noncommunicable Diseases in Times of Pandemic), developed by Vital Strategies, a global public health organization, and by UFPel (Federal University of Pelotas), with funding from Umane and support from Abrasco (Brazilian Association of Collective Health).

The survey interviewed 9,000 Brazilian adults, from capitals and cities in the interior of the five regions of the country, by telephone (landline and cell phone), between January and April 2023, with the goal of making a current portrait of NCDs (chronic non-communicable diseases) .

“Covitel comes right after the pandemic to remind us of health problems in Brazil that are not acute, but are urgent. The problem of obesity, of physical inactivity, have existed for years, but they are also urgent. This increase in young people is appalling” , says Pedro Hallal, a professor at UFPel and one of the coordinators of Covitel.

The professor also claims that the high level of anxiety among younger people may be a factor that explains the growth of obesity in this age group.

“Anxiety is related to increased food consumption […] so it greatly increases the risk of obesity.” He also mentions the loss of income of the Brazilian population, which increases the consumption of inadequate food and, consequently, increases the chances of someone being obese.

For Luciana Sardinha, senior manager of NCDs at Vital Strategies and also coordinator of the survey, the increase in the prevalence of obesity among young people may be an effect of the period of the Covid-19 pandemic, characterized by a sedentary lifestyle, consumption of unhealthy foods and social isolation. , but it is also a reflection of the lack of public policies aimed at this public.

“There is a gap. We have an agenda for the growth and development of children from zero to five years old. Then there is something for teenagers, but there is a lack of public policy for this public that is entering college, starting in the job market.”

Pedro de Paula, executive director of Vital, has a similar perception. “It’s a group that tends to be forgotten. We think about young people for traffic accidents, urban violence, but we don’t think about NCDs.”

At 20 years old, salesman Felipe has a BMI of 41. He weighs 138 kg and measures 1.83 m. On weekends, he drinks a bottle or two of whiskey, vodka or gin. “But I like beer better.” And he usually takes “about three or four pulls” on the electronic cigarette.

He says he goes without drinking twice a year, for two months, to “detoxify” his body and have “more spirit”. “I eat well, I always put some vegetables on my plate. Once a year, I go to the nutritionist to see if I can lose weight a little and control my triglycerides better, which is a bit high. I already reached 152 kg.”

Young people between 18 and 24 years old are also the ones who least consume fruits and vegetables among all age groups. Only 33.5% (fruits) and 39.2% (vegetables) include these foods in their diet five or more times a week.

At the same time, they are the champions in the regular consumption of soft drinks or artificial juices (five times a week or more), with a 24.3% prevalence, the highest among all age groups. They are also in the lead in screen time: 76.1% use devices such as cell phones, tablets or television for three hours or more a day for leisure.

Just over a third (36.9%) practice the 150 minutes of weekly physical activity recommended by the WHO (World Health Organization), and 54.2% sleep the recommended amount of hours for their age (seven to nine hours a day ).

This set of unhealthy habits and attitudes has repercussions on health: 8.2% of them, which means 1.4 million young people, already have a medical diagnosis of hypertension. Almost half (47%) reported having received a medical prescription, but 46% said they did not use the prescribed medication.

Another 750,000 young people were diagnosed with diabetes and 89% were prescribed medication. However, 60.4% do not use them. “It’s not that the problem will come in the future, when these young people are at the peak of the job market. It’s now”, says Sardinha, from Vital.

Mental health is also bad. Almost a third of young people (31.6%), which represents 5.5 million, already had a medical diagnosis of anxiety. Another 14.1% (2.4 million) of depression.

For Thais Junqueira, general superintendent of Umane, it is essential that, based on the data, there is monitoring of these conditions, as well as a line of care aimed at this public and trained professionals to assist them.

“The child who arrives at the UBS with a sore throat leaves there with an anti-inflammatory, two or three days later he has nothing left, but he is an obese child who is not being seen by the health system.”

She also cites the work of third-sector organizations that have acted in the Legislative and Executive branches in the elaboration of public policies aimed at combating obesity (prohibiting the sale of ultra-processed foods in schools, for example) and mental disorders.

For Pedro de Paula, from Vital, it is also important to resume campaigns on risk factors among adolescents and young adults, who today represent a group of great commercial interest. “The tobacco and alcohol industry wants to hook new consumers for long-term consumption,” he says.

According to survey data, 23.9% of young people between 18 and 24 years old have used electronic cigarettes at least once in their lives. In 2022, the prevalence was 19.7%.

He warns that the promotion of tobacco, especially electronic cigarettes, and alcoholic beverages has grown through digital platforms. “These are subliminal advertisements from influencers using ‘vapes’, lives and podcasts broadcast with encouraged alcohol consumption.”

Luciana Sardinha says that, when asked about the reason for using electronic cigarettes, most young people say that it is to keep up with friends or because “now it’s fashionable”.

“The industry takes this approach and it’s working. You arrive at the supermarket today and, next to the can of soda, which is already bad, there’s a can of vodka, all colorful, with a lot of smell.”