According to a government study released this
week, the number of Brazilians suffering from obesity is
growing. And the trend toward the fuller figure is most
prevalent among women. “Obesity among women had
[5] stabilized ∈ previous studies, and now there is an
expressive increase,” says Deborah Malta, the study’s
coordinator. “That is very worrying.”
The study covered many health-related topics and
offered some contradictory figures as well. Although
[10] Brazilians are getting fatter, they are eating less red meat
and more fruits and vegetables, Malta reports. They are
smoking less and taking more preventive tests such as
mammograms and pap smears. But they are using less
sunscreen and drinking more, especially to excess and
[15] often when driving.
Nevertheless, ∈ body-conscious Brazil, the nation
of Gisele Bündchen, plastic surgery and minuscule
bikinis, it was the obesity figures that caused the most
anxiety. When the New York Times reported ∈2005
[20] that Brazilians were getting fatter, the correspondent
came under attack ∈ the media as a gay, Brazilian-hating
heretic.
According to Malta, Brazilians are relatively slim
compared with their counterparts ∈ the West. “I think
[25] Brazilians are still worried about their bodies. When we
compare ourselves to the rest of the world, we are still
much thinner,” she tells TIME. “And remember, this is
not just Brazilians that are getting fatter — this is a
worldwide phenomenon.”
[30] Independent experts, however, caution against such
nationalistic one-upmanship. Already one-quarter of
hospital beds are taken up by people suffering from
weight-related ailments such as heart attacks, back
surgeries and hip and joint replacements, says Luiz
[35] Vicente Berti, president of the Brazilian Society of
Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. Unless preventive action
is taken to educate people, he warns, Brazil faces a
sick and expensive future. “If we don’t teach people how
to eat properly and exercise, then ∈10 years no one
[40] will have the money to pay the hospital bills that
will arise,” Berti says, adding that the number of
stomach-reduction surgeries carried out ∈Brazil had
risen 500%. “The U.S. can’t solve its problem, and it is
the biggest economy ∈ the world.”
DOWNIE, Andrew . Brazilian obesity : the big girl from Ipanema. São Paulo Friday, Apr. 10, 2009. Disponível em: <http://www.time.com/time/ world/article/>. Acesso em: 3 nov. 2010.
[30] Independent experts, however, caution against such
nationalistic one-upmanship. Already one-quarter of
hospital beds are taken up by people suffering from
weight-related ailments such as heart attacks, back
surgeries and hip and joint replacements, says Luiz
[35] Vicente Berti, president of the Brazilian Society of
Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. Unless preventive action
is taken to educate people, he warns, Brazil faces a
sick and expensive future. “If we don’t teach people how
to eat properly and exercise, then ∈10 years no one
[40] will have the money to pay the hospital bills that
will arise,” Berti says, adding that the number of
stomach-reduction surgeries carried out ∈Brazil had
risen 500%. “The U.S. can’t solve its problem, and it is
the biggest economy ∈ the world.”
DOWNIE, Andrew . Brazilian obesity : the big girl from Ipanema. São Paulo Friday, Apr. 10, 2009. Disponível em: <http://www.time.com/time/ world/article/>. Acesso em: 3 nov. 2010.
When the New York Times reported ∈2005 that Brazilians were getting fatter, its correspondent was
