Obesity in Germany

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Share of adults that are obese, 1975 to 2016 Obesity in Germany.svg
Share of adults that are obese, 1975 to 2016

Obesity in Germany has been increasingly cited as a major health issue in recent years. The federal government has declared this to be a major issue. [1]

Contents

Data released by the World Health Organization in 2014 showed that while an issue of growing concern, within the European Union, Germany had an incidence of overweight and obese adults as a percentage of the total population at 54.8% as in comparison with France at 60.7%, Spain at 60.9% or the United Kingdom at 63.4%. [2]

History

Prior to 2007

In 1998, 19 percent of men and 22.5 percent of women met the definition of obesity. [3] Childhood obesity doubled between 1985 and 1999. [4] Childhood obesity is at about 1.9 million children in Germany; of which 800.000 are considered truly obese. [4]

2007 – 2010

Chart showing that Germany had the most overweight and obese people among Europeans in 2007 Fettleibigkeit in Europa2.svg
Chart showing that Germany had the most overweight and obese people among Europeans in 2007

A 2007 study shows Germany had the highest number of overweight people in Europe. [5] [6] However, the United Kingdom, Greece and certain countries in Eastern Europe have a higher rate of "truly obese" people. [7] In 2007, The German obesity rate was considered at the same level as with the American obesity rate. [8] In Germany, 60% of men and 43% of women are considered overweight while in France, 38.5% of men and 26% of women are considered overweight. [9] Germans are considered thinner than people in the United Kingdom. [9] The waist of female Germans between the ages of 14 and 70 grew by 4.1 centimetres between 1994 and 2009. [10] The belly girth of men between 16 and 70 grew by 4.4 centimetres between 1980 and 2009. [10]

2011 – Present

The number of overweight people in Germany has stagnated between 1998 and December 2011. [11] 67.1% of all men between 18 and 79 are considered overweight with a BMI of 25 or greater. [11] In 2019, the proportion of overweight and obese people in Germany was at an average level for the EU-27. [12]

Childhood obesity

Italy has surpassed Germany for having the fattest children in Europe. [13] A survey in 2007 had Germany listed as the country with "the highest proportion of overweight children in Europe." [13] However, despite dropping in the rankings, the number of truly obese children have doubled in the past decade. [14]

Around 4% of 5 to 7 year-olds and 8% of 10 to 14 year-olds are obese in Germany. [15]

Healthy lifestyle

Only 14% live a "completely healthy" life. [16] Almost a quarter of German adults meet the definition of obesity. [3] Both men and women are around 23%. [3]

State-by-state

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern go on foot or by bicycle to get where they need to more often than any other state. [16] Mecklenburg-Vorpommern has the most people living a "completely healthy" life at a rate of 19.8% of the people while Saxony-Anhalt have the fewest people living a "completely healthy" life. [16] Thuringia has the healthiest eating habits while people from North Rhine-Westphalia and Berlin have the worst eating habits. [16]

Statistics of people living a "completely healthy" life

RankingStatePercentage
of people
living a
"completely healthy"
life
Source
1 Mecklenburg-Vorpommern 19.8 [16]
2 Lower Saxony & Bremen 19.5
3 Saxony 17.2
4 Bavaria 16.5
5 Hesse 14.7
6 Thuringia 13.9
7 Schleswig-Holstein 13.6
8 Berlin 12.3
9 North Rhine-Westphalia 12.0
Hamburg 12.0
11 Baden-Württemberg 11.3
12 Rhineland-Palatinate & Saarland 9.4
Brandenburg 9.4
14 Saxony-Anhalt 7.9

Causes

Food and drinks

A high consumption of beer, fatty and processed foods and a lack of exercise are to be blamed for obesity in Germany. [7] [17] [18]

Another issue is the lack of fruits, vegetables and fish in the German diet. [17] Children's food products do not contribute to a healthy diet. [19]

Die Welt reported that a "balanced diet is practically impossible." [19] The profit margin for fruits and vegetables was below five percent while confectionery, soft drinks and snacks was at 15% or more. [19]

Genes

Genes partly play a role in obesity. [20] Scientists at the German Institute of Human Nutrition and the University Hospital of Leipzig stated that identified two genes that promote fat accumulation in the abdominal cavity. [21] The increased activity of the genes also promotes the release of an enzyme that is responsible for the formation of cortisol. [21] A permanent increase in cortisol levels contribute to obesity. [21]

Marriage

Marriage has played a factor. [9] Sixty-nine percent of married men are considered overweight while only 43% of single men are considered overweight. [9] Fifty-eight percent of widowed women are considered overweight and 46% of married women are considered overweight, while only 25% of single women are considered overweight. [9] For children, lifestyle choices such as exercise and enough sleep plays a role in weight. [13]

Effects

Employment problems

A study by the German Sport University Cologne revealed that some industries in Germany have a shortage of qualified trainees due to Germany's obesity epidemic. [22] The industries affected are security and emergency services and skilled manual work sectors. [22]

Clothing industry

A clothing-related study revealed that many clothing companies plan to adjust their sizing partly due to Germany's obesity epidemic. [10]

Physical health

Several studies have shown that obese men tend to have a lower sperm count, fewer rapidly mobile sperm and fewer progressively motile sperm compared to normal-weight men. [23]

Obesity in Germany has created a cholesterol problem. [17] High cholesterol is known to cause premature death, angina, heart disease and strokes. [17]

There has been an increase of children with Type 1 diabetes between 1996 and 2011. [24] Diabetics are at higher risk for complications such as heart attack and stroke. [24] In Germany, 600,000 people suffered from diabetes near the end of World War II compared to eight million now. [24]

Obesity can increase risk for secondary diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, certain cancers and Alzheimer's. [14] Children who get diabetes can expect to lose 10 to 15 years off of their lives. [24] Diabetes also affect the eyes, kidneys and nerves in the legs. [24]

Obesity is a "very strong promoter of cancer." [25] Obesity causes an increased risk for colon cancer and breast cancer. [25]

Costs

Health costs because of obesity has increased and accounts for 20% of health costs. [8] A third of patients suffer from a loss of control when eating and how much out of control depends on how fat the patient is. [14]

Intelligence

Obesity in seniors shows that it makes seniors less intelligent. [26]

Programs

There are many weight loss children programs for kids. [4]

Fit instead of Fat

The Fit instead of Fat program is run by the German federal government. The objective of the program is to "sharply" reduce obesity rates by the year 2020. [5] [6] The program will try and meet the target by improving the quality of food offered in schools and hospitals along with increasing exercise levels in children. [5] [6]

Bundeswehr's fitness camp

As of 2007, forty percent of the Bundeswehr's 300,000 conscripts doing military service are considered overweight. [27] [28] A 2007 report declared "excessive bureaucracy" for limiting the time soldiers have to exercise. [28] As a result, an anti-obesity fitness camp opened in Warendorf, North Rhine-Westphalia. [27]

Projekt Kugelblitz

A hospital in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia started Projekt Kugelblitz to help obese children and adolescence. [29] The aim of the program is to "improve the self-perception, so that the participants develop more sensitive to the context of frustration and compulsive eating, and the selection and preparation of foods and of exercise and well-being". [29]

Anti-obesity clinic

An anti-obesity clinic in Wesseling, North Rhine-Westphalia works with a maximum of eight participants for 27 months. [30] The program is about nutrition counseling, physical exercise and behavior therapy. [30] Each week they are cared for in highly structured and interlinked courses and motivated. [30] Up to 80 appointments are intended per year. [30]

School involvement and funding

North Rhine-Westphalia introduced fitness test for students in the second grade due to an increase of children and adolescents being overweight. [31] The students will be weighed and be put through a series of eight exercises. [31] The state government also wants to fund sports for children who have a weight problem. [31]

Forbes 2007 ranking

The following list reflects the percentage of overweight adults aged 15 and over. These are individuals who have individual body mass indexes, which measures weight relative to height, greater than or equal to 25.

RankingCountryPercentage
38 Jordan 60.5
39 Bahamas 60.4
40 Iceland 60.4
41 Nicaragua 60.4
42 Cuba 60.1
43 Germany 60.1
44 Brunei Darussalam 59.8
45 Slovenia 59.8
46 Peru 59.6
47 Vanuatu 59.6
48 Finland 58.7

Source: Forbes.com [32]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Body mass index</span> Relative weight based on mass and height

Body mass index (BMI) is a value derived from the mass (weight) and height of a person. The BMI is defined as the body mass divided by the square of the body height, and is expressed in units of kg/m2, resulting from mass in kilograms (kg) and height in metres (m).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abdominal obesity</span> Excess fat around the stomach and abdomen

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Obesity</span> Medical condition in which excess body fat harms health

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Obesity in the United Kingdom</span> Overview of obesity in the United Kingdom

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Obesity in the Pacific</span> Overview of the causes for and prevalence of obesity in the Pacific

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Obesity in Nauru</span> Overview of the causes for and prevalence of obesity in Nauru

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Obesity in Sweden</span> Health issue in Sweden

Obesity in Sweden has been increasingly cited as a major health issue in recent years. Sweden is the 90th fattest country in the world. In 2009, the number of people who are considered overweight or obese had not increased for the first time in 70 years. Claude Marcus, a leading Swedish nutrition expert from the Karolinska Institutet, stated that one solution is to introduce a fat tax. Folksam refused to insure a 5-year-old girl from Orust. The insurance company refused her insurance based on "serious overweight/obesity". A report showed that children whose parents were better educated had a lower chance of becoming overweight.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Obesity in the Middle East and North Africa</span> Overview of the causes for and prevalence of obesity in the Middle East and North African countries

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Health in Germany</span> Overview of health in Germany

Germany ranked 20th in the world in life expectancy in 2014 with 76.5 years for men and 82.1 years for women. It had a very low infant mortality rate, and it was eighth place in the number of practicing physicians, at 3.3 per 1,000 people.

Obesity is defined as an abnormal accumulation of body fat, usually 20% or more over an individual's ideal body weight. This is often described as a body mass index (BMI) over 30. However, BMI does not account for whether the excess weight is fat or muscle, and is not a measure of body composition. For most people, however, BMI is an indication used worldwide to estimate nutritional status. Obesity is usually the result of consuming more calories than the body needs and not expending that energy by doing exercise. There are genetic causes and hormonal disorders that cause people to gain significant amounts of weight but this is rare. People in the obese category are much more likely to suffer from fertility problems than people of normal healthy weight.

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