The Spanish Cardiology Society says that 39.3% of Spaniards between the ages of 25 and 64 are overweight, with 21.6% of them being obese.
The society has taken data from the nutritional study of the Spanish population and analysed a total of 3,800 men and women. It has found that men are more prone to being overweight, with there being significant weight gain in the 25-34 age group. With women, weight tends to be put on later in life.
There are regional variations. The highest incidences of obesity are in Asturias, Galicia and Andalusia (each around 25% of the 25-64 population). There are lower rates in Catalonia (15.5%) and - the lowest of all - the Balearics with 10.5%.
A professor at the University of Navarre, Javier Aranceta-Bartrina, highlights the need for greater and more systematic observation of groups that are at higher risk and to therefore apply preventive strategies. Being overweight or obese suggests a poorer quality of life and an increased burden of care and cost to the health service.
The latest findings are similar to those for a study carried out between 2008 and 2010. This had pointed to a 22.9% level of obesity among over-18s. Aranceta-Bartrina stresses the importance of healthy lifestyle habits, while the society recommends thirty minutes of moderate daily physical activity and offers advice as to diet: two or more servings of vegetables per day, several fruits, virgin olive oil, bread, rice, pasta and other cereals, legumes, dairy products and fish, with red meat being avoided as much as possible along with sweets and cakes.