The 2024 Annual Report from the National Programme for the Promotion of Healthy Eating of the Directorate-General for Health highlighted findings from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study, revealing that in 2021, poor dietary habits were the fifth leading risk factor, accounting for 5.8% of total DALYs lost due to unhealthy life years in Portugal.
In terms of mortality, inadequate eating habits were identified as the third leading risk factor contributing to total deaths in Portugal in 2021, amounting to 8.3%.
The study found that the risk factors causing the most deaths from cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, kidney diseases, and neoplasms are similar to those responsible for the loss of healthy life years. Low intake of whole grains and fruits, combined with high consumption of red meat, processed meat, and salt, were among the top five dietary risk factors.
GBD data also highlighted significant increases in risk factors that contribute to the loss of healthy life years between 2000 and 2021, including sugary drinks (+37.13%), red meat (+22.53%), processed meat (+21.59%), and low vegetable consumption (+21.51%).
On World Food Day, the report emphasized predictions from a 2024 Lancet study, suggesting that Portugal could see approximately 13% fewer DALYs than expected in 2050 if certain risk factors, such as high adult body mass index, high blood pressure, elevated LDL cholesterol, and smoking, are eliminated by then.
An additional Lancet study (2025) projects that by 2050, while overweight prevalence in Portugal will increase by 29.2% in women and 32.5% in men, obesity rates are anticipated to rise by 52.3% and 77.8% respectively, compared to 2021.
As for obesity rates between 1990 and 2021, an increase of 136.6% was recorded for women and 214.7% for men. By 2050, these figures are expected to surge by 52.3% for women and 77.8% for men compared to 2021.
The report also evaluated trends in childhood overweight and obesity among school-aged children (6-9 years), comparing rounds 5 (2018-2020) and 6 (2022-2024) of the Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative (COSI), conducted across 28 countries. It noted a general increase in the European region, including Portugal, where the prevalence of overweight boys rose by 1.0 percentage point, while it fell by 0.7 percentage points among girls between the two rounds.
Regarding obesity prevalence, it increased by 1.1 percentage points among boys and 2.1 percentage points among girls. Nonetheless, Portugal observed no statistically significant differences between the two rounds, according to the Directorate-General for Health.
The report, aimed at conveying the latest national epidemiological information on nutrition and diet, noted a decline in the number of hospital discharges with malnutrition, totaling 7,485 in 2023, reflecting a 10.6% decrease from the previous year, with an average stay of 20.72 days.
Most patients were elderly men, with a 4.17% decrease in discharges related to anorexia, totaling 1,908 in 2023 compared to 2022, with an average hospital stay of 16.73 days, primarily involving young women aged 19 to 39 and elderly men.
