The number of young Brazilians aged between 18 and 24 who are obese has increased considerably. In 2022, 9% of this population was obese, but in 2023, the number jumped to 17.1%.
This shows a 90% increase in cases and turns on several red flags for health agencies.
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This information was released by the Telephone Survey of Risk Factors for Chronic Noncommunicable Diseases in Times of Pandemic (Covite). The survey was developed by the Federal University of Pelotas (UFPel) in partnership with Vital Strategies.
Youth health is a global challenge
It is worth noting that obesity is found when a person's Body Mass Index (BMI) is equal to 30 or more. In addition to this problem, young people demonstrate more challenges to be overcome.
Data show that 31.6% of these people have already been diagnosed with anxiety and that 32.6% report alcohol abuse.
In addition, this group of people is the one that least consumes foods such as fruits and vegetables regularly. Less than 40% consume these foods five or more times a week.
Regarding the consumption of soft drinks, 24.3% of young people claim to consume regularly on 5 or more days of the week. This type of drink has already been classified as highly harmful by experts and authorities.
Data gets even worse
Only 36.9% of this group of people practice the 150 weekly minutes of physical activity recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).
However, they lead the so-called screen time, with 76.1% using devices such as cell phones, tablets or television for three hours or more every day for leisure.
The data does not stop scaring as it is revealed. O sleep in the population between 18 and 24 years old, according to Agência Brasil, it is also compromised.
That's because only 54.2% of them sleep the amount of hours recommended for their age (seven to nine hours a day, according to the National Sleep Foundation).
Lack of sleep can have an impact on some chronic conditions – 8.2% of these young people have already had a medical diagnosis of high blood pressure. Meanwhile, 14.1% live with depression.
9,000 Brazilians from capitals and inland cities were heard by landline or cell phone. The survey was carried out between January and April of this year.