Brazil, Land of the Thong, Embraces Its Heavier Self

In 2020, almost 29 % of Brazilians older than 20 had been overweight, up from roughly 15 % in 2000, one of many largest will increase of any nation over that interval, in response to the Institute for Well being Metrics and Analysis on the College of Washington. Among the many 10 most populous nations, solely Mexico, the US and Russia had increased weight problems charges, ranging between 31 % and 37 %, in response to the info.

Dr. Claudia Cozer Kalil, an endocrinologist at certainly one of Brazil’s high hospitals in São Paulo, attributed the hovering weight problems partially to rising wages that led to poor diets of quick meals and processed meals. As weight problems has elevated, she stated, so have associated well being issues like diabetes, hypertension and sleep apnea. She stated that the federal government ought to do extra to handle the difficulty, together with higher meals labeling. In Brazil, as an illustration, diet labels usually don’t embody sugar.

Nonetheless, she supported the legal guidelines. “The very fact is, the inhabitants is heavier,” she stated. “So now we have to adapt to that.”

Brazil’s “gordofobia” debate revolves partially across the unrealistic picture of the Brazilian physique within the media inside and outdoors the nation. The psychological influence of that picture, activists stated, may be illustrated by Brazilians’ efforts to pump up their lips, breasts, butts and muscle groups — and surgically suck out their fats — at a fee far increased than that of most different nations.

In 2019, Brazil led the world in plastic surgical procedures. In 2020, amid the pandemic, it had 6.1 plastic surgical procedures per 1,000 individuals, in contrast with 4.5 per 1,000 individuals in the US, the world chief in whole plastic surgical procedures that 12 months, according to statistics from a world plastic-surgeon commerce group. A risky surgery that includes transferring fats from the stomach to the butt is even referred to as the Brazilian butt lift.