Capetonians SA's fattest
2010-09-08 23:04
Johannesburg - About two-thirds of women in South Africa are overweight.
This is just one of the findings in a survey done in July among 500 adults in the country's four biggest cities, on behalf of the pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).
Altogether 72% of Cape Town's residents are overweight. Pretoria comes second at 68%, followed by Johannesburg at 59% and Durban at 52%.
The study also showed that, with 61% of adults in these four cities being overweight, South Africa is the country with the third-most overweight citizens, with America coming first and Britain second. Australia is in fourth place.
Dr Jeff King, a Johannesburg cardiologist who was involved in the study, attributes this tendency to South Africans becoming more westernised and increasingly likely to eat junk food.
According to Andrea Ellens, who was also involved in the survey, the world reached a turning point a few years ago.
There are currently more overweight than malnourished people worldwide.
Jonathan Girling, deputy president of consumer healthcare at GSK, said the purpose of the survey was "to determine how healthy South Africans are".
According to Celynn Erasmus, a dietician, many people sacrifice their health for money.
"Being overweight, obese or morbidly obese combined with stress in the workplace is a recipe for disaster."
Besides work stress, things like cold temperatures, boredom and depression also tend to make people eat more, according to the study.
Ellens says the cost of healthy food has a significant impact on people's weight.
About 40% of respondents' food shopping is driven by price, and 59% feel the government should do more to prevent citizens from becoming obese, for instance by making healthier food more affordable.
Ellens also said that overweight parents have an impact on how their children eat. Children were not included in the sample, but previous studies by the World Health Organisation showed that 17% of children in South Africa are overweight.