THE Regional Health Project for New Aquitaine 2018-2028 is interested in the state of physical, psychological and social health of the inhabitants of Neo-Aquitaine, developed by the three regional health observatories. This diagnosis was made using a so-called “declarative” method, the respondents answered directly. As for overweight prevalence, the numbers speak for themselves: 53% of adult residents are overweight, including 21% who are obese. This figure, as at the national level, continues to rise, especially for women, executives and higher intellectual professions, especially in relation to obesity.
23% have an unbalanced diet
However, men remain the most affected by excess weight. Workers, unemployed, with less than a bachelor's degree, farmers or living in small towns… The number of overweight men is very high. Overweight increases with age, hence a high prevalence among pensioners and differs depending on whether you live in Gironde or Corrèze. In fact, 50% of Girondins are overweight, compared to 60% of Corréziens. Of the people surveyed, three quarters consider their diet to be balanced, 23% admit that they do not have the right food and 2% do not know or do not want to position themselves. The proportion of people who consider their diet unbalanced has increased since 2018 and refers mainly to young people, workers, unemployed, inactive or students, people with less than a bachelor's degree and people living alone.
If we consider that a good physical activity is estimated at more than two and a quarter hours a day (1), 41% of those surveyed recognize the activity at a high level, therefore favorable to health, which is good. On the other hand, 39% of those surveyed recognize a low level, especially women – as at national level – and 20% a moderate level. A quarter of New Aquitaine residents have both a low level of physical activity and a high level of sedentariness, which, added to an unbalanced diet and being overweight, increases the risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer.
(1) Physical activity refers to all movements performed, in the context of leisure, to move from one place to another, at work or during household chores, according to the WHO.