Despite over 90% of respondents acknowledging obesity as a chronic disease requiring treatment, less than half (47.5%) are aware that the classification criterion is having a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 or more.
Researcher Ana Rita Pedro expressed surprise at the lack of recognition of the disease, stating to Lusa that, “There may be a lack of knowledge about what obesity is, and thus the person does not know if they have it. It can also be related to stigma [where the individual does not label themselves as obese], a kind of denial of the health condition, or it could be an issue of literacy,” she explained.
The 9th edition of the Health that Counts study, set to be released today, aimed to evaluate the knowledge and attitudes towards obesity within the Portuguese adult population, as well as health literacy levels, while also analyzing the influence of demographic and socioeconomic factors.
In total, 3,333 responses were validated between November 2024 and February of this year.
While 35.5% of the total sample met obesity criteria, only 20.45% reported having the disease, highlighting “a perception gap.”
The data further reveals high probabilities reported by people regarding social spheres, such as the likelihood of employing someone with obesity or having a friend with obesity. However, in more personal or intimate spheres—such as the likelihood of dating someone with obesity or entrusting one’s children to a person with obesity—these values drop significantly.
Individuals with obesity perceive a greater level of discrimination against the condition, and in terms of body perception, the data warns of gender discrimination.
“Traditionally, we are more comfortable with excess weight associated with males. We tend to view females more critically, and this was also noted in these results,” Ana Rita Pedro explained.
The expert also highlighted the role of social media in this matter: “We are daily confronted with the exposure of the female body to these ‘ideal’ body standards, which leads to a much more critical view than for a male body.”
Regarding health literacy, she noted that the concept extends beyond just having access to information.
“We are indeed talking about access, but also about understanding the information, evaluating whether it comes from credible sources, and practically applying it to one’s daily life, according to their health and disease profile,” she explained, cautioning against misinformation on social media.
The study found that people with obesity generally demonstrate “lower” health literacy levels, with over half (54.1%) displaying “problematic” or “inadequate” levels.
Ana Rita Pedro mentioned improvements over the last 10 years—in 2016, more than 60% of the population had negative health literacy levels, while today the figure is around 45%—but emphasized the need for further efforts, utilizing social media to “reach people where they are.”
She stressed the importance of equipping people with skills to discern validated, credible information, while highlighting the need for “increasingly competent individuals to differentiate marketing maneuvers from scientific evidence.”
“We should try to be where people are, leaving little room for those information gaps that are quickly filled by others,” she warned.
The researcher stressed the need for alliances between academia, policymakers, and governing bodies to ensure more credible information is circulated on social media, including by health professionals: “There are healthcare professionals who are genuine ‘influencers’ on social media, and with much merit, helping in the area of literacy and empowerment of people.”
However, she acknowledged that the most challenging part is the “critical literacy” component: the ability to look at one’s surroundings and know how to distinguish credible information from other information. “Often, they become blurred. And we are aware of this.”
