In Mexico, almost 4 out of every 10 people over 15 years of age suffer from obesity. It is the second country with the highest rate of the nations that make up the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), six points below the United States (42.8%). The institution has presented the forceful report that studies the health outlook for 2023. It reflects that Mexicans are the ones who suffer the most from diabetes, a disease that affects 16.9% of the population.
The deputy head of the OECD health division, Frederico Guanais, has expressed concern about the problems that obesity can generate in Mexican healthcare. “Mexico must have intersectoral action for the prevention of obesity. With the levels of Mexico, the crisis in the health system “It’s going to get worse,” the expert warned. The OECD itself has explained that this disease also affects the Mexican economy, reducing the Gross Domestic Product by 5.3% due to health expenses derived from the condition.
Obesity is diagnosed based on a Body Mass Index – which is obtained by dividing weight by height squared – greater than 30. In Mexico, 36% of people are above that threshold. Along with mortality from air pollution, obesity is the only risk factor in which the country exceeds the OECD average. Mexicans, however, are below average in liters of alcohol consumed per person (5) and the number of inhabitants who smoke daily (8.6% of the population).
What does worry the economic institution is that Mexico leads the list of people suffering from type I and II diabetes. Almost 2 out of every 10 Mexicans suffer from it, much higher than the United States, where only 10% of the population suffers from this disease.
Although the number of diabetics in Mexico has increased almost three points and the number of obese people is the second highest in the OECD, the positive fact is that Mexico has managed to extend its life expectancy from 75.1 years to 75.4.
The health system is concerned
Only 7 out of 10 people in Mexico had access to the basic health system in 2020, the last year with figures available for the OECD, just when the covid-19 pandemic devastated a weakened health system. The organization’s concern comes because in 2019 the percentage was 80%.
Added to the lack of access is the Mexican Government’s health spending, the lowest when measured per person. It is only $1,181 per capita, although it has increased by $48 compared to what was invested in 2021.
The number of doctors is on the rise, although it has only increased by one basis point from the 2.4 per 1,000 inhabitants that there were in 2021. It remains behind in this regard along with Colombia. The shocking figure is one hospital bed for every thousand people, which contrasts with the more than 12 that Korea and Japan have.
Guanais shows that Mexico faces a “strong problem of financing health systems.” The president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, launched his project to reform the health system throughout the country on October 10. He obtained the signature of 23 of the 32 States of Mexico to centralize healthcare in the Federal Government, under the IMSS-Wellbeing program. The OECD will reassess the sector in two years, which are expected to be crucial to know if the Mexican health system will be able to emerge from the bad data in which it has been mired for years.
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