In 2022, 31% of people aged 15 or over living in Switzerland were overweight. They were 25% in 1992, a figure which rose to more than 30% in 2012, but has remained stable since. On the other hand, 12% of people suffered from obesity in 2022, compared to only 5% in 1992, according to a new publication from the Federal Statistical Office (FSO).
The World Health Organization (WHO) uses body mass index (BMI) to define overweight and obesity. It is calculated by dividing weight by size 8 (in cm) squared. People whose BMI exceeds 25 are considered overweight. Obesity, defined as a severe form of overweight, occurs when the BMI is 30 or more. The WHO recognizes that obesity is a complex chronic disease.
Overweight and obesity do not affect men and women in the same way. In 2022, one in two men and one in three women suffered from it: overweight affected 39% of men and 23% of women; As for obesity, it affected both sexes in almost similar proportions (13% of men and 11% of women).
People without post-compulsory training suffer more from overweight and obesity than people with more advanced training: among the former, 21% are obese and 39% overweight. The higher the level of training, the more these proportions decrease. Among people who have completed secondary level II, 15% suffer from obesity and 34% are overweight. Among people with a tertiary degree, these shares were 9% and 30%.
Obesity and overweight are among the main risk factors for cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. This risk increases with the increase in BMI: 40% of obese people suffered from hypertension in 2022, then that the proportion was 12% among people of normal weight. Compared to the latter, more people with obesity had excessively high cholesterol levels (24% versus 10%) and more often suffered from diabetes (15% versus 2%).
Obesity and being overweight can promote the onset of certain chronic diseases. For example, osteoarthritis and asthma affected obese people more than people of normal weight (23% versus 12% and 9% versus 6%, respectively). Pathological sleep disorders were also more prevalent among obese people than among those of normal weight (10% versus 7%).
Compared to people of normal weight, obese people suffered, in 2022, more often from moderate to severe symptoms of depression (13% versus 9%) and low levels of energy and vitality (39% versus 33%). . No differences were observed in moderate to severe symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder (6%).
Among 15- to 64-year-olds with obesity, 12 percent reported receiving little interest and support from others, compared with 7 percent among normal-weight people. In the same age group, people suffering from obesity were also more likely to feel lonely often or very often (9% compared to 6%). From age 64, the proportions were balanced between obese people and those of normal weight: at this stage of life, obese people and those of normal weight included equivalent proportions of individuals who felt they benefited from little interest and supportive or feeling alone.
