Aim: to assess the prevalence of overweight and obesity in Spanish adults and to know the current situation and its evolution in the last years.
Material and methods: The study involved 418 subjects (196 men and 222 women) from 18 to 60 years, who were selected to constitute a representative sample of the Spanish population as a whole. Sanitary, socioeconomic and anthropometric (weight, height, waist circumference and percentage body fat by bioimpedance) data was collected. Body Mass Index and waist-height were ratio calculated.
Results: The prevalence of overweight was 34.2%, 43.9% in men and 25.7% in women, and the prevalence of obesity was 13.6% (it was similar in men and women). 47.8% of the population had excess of body weight and 70.2% excess of body fat, these parameters were higher in men than in women and they increased with age. 22.2% of the population had central obesity (taking waist circumference as reference) and 54.7% central obesity and high cardiovascular risk (because waist/height was > 0.5), both parameters were higher in men than in women.
Conclusion: Overweight and obesity prevalence among the Spanish population is very high and more than the half of the population is in risk of suffering from cardiovascular disease. Furthermore, the situation is worse than a few years ago, so it is necessary to continue working to decrease the prevalence of overweight and obesity among the Spanish population.