Socio Demography of Obesity in Argentina at the Beginning of the Twenty-First Century

Abstract

There is a consensus that places obesity as a main public health problem of the twenty-first century. Most of the epidemiological research in this field has focused on the role of individual factors linked to lifestyles such as diet and physical activity. However, since the emergence of the notion of obesogenic environments and the consolidation of the social determinants of health approach, the influence of contextual factors (physical, socioeconomic, cultural, and political) has become a crucial topic to better understand and address the obesity epidemic. In Argentina, one third of the adult population had obesity in 2018, with an overall rising trend in the last years. There is evidence suggesting that obesity follows a social gradient in this country: its prevalence decreases with an increase in the socio-economic level. This chapter analyzes and illustrates by maps the distribution of obesity prevalence among specific social groups. Our purpose was to study the territorial patterns of social inequity in the health and nutrition of the Argentine population, particularly considering geographical differentials in obesity burden according to sex, age, and socio-economic conditions. Public databases such as the 2005, 2009, and 2013 editions of the National Survey of Risk Factors (National Health Ministry) were used. First, the chapter introduces the notion of obesity as a complex multicausal pathology and highlights the importance of having a broader view of the socio-environmental determinants of the obesity epidemic. Second, we provide and interpret thematic maps for 2005, 2009, and 2013 that represent the spatio-temporal distributions of the age-standardized obesity rate by sexes, and the specific prevalences by age groups (young, middle-aged, and older adults), education level (population with complete university studies versus without complete primary education), and poverty (population with or without unsatisfied basic needs). Finally, the chapter discusses the role of public policies in the last years in Argentina and the challenges to address the ongoing obesity epidemic within the context of an intersectoral work.