The ObeCity index launched ahead of World Obesity Day this Saturday. Photo: Reuters
As obesity costs South Africa billions, Discovery Vitality on Wednesday announced the results of a national study comparing members’ collective weight across South African cities.
The study showed Capetonians had the healthiest weight, while Gqeberha had the most room to improve.
The ObeCity index healthy weight ranking lists the healthiest to least healthy cities: From Cape Town (healthiest weight) ; Johannesburg; Durban; Pretoria; Bloemfontein and Gqeberha (least healthy).
It also launched a HealthyWeight programme that comes with a price tag.
These initiatives were launched prior to World Obesity Day this Saturday. Being overweight and showing obesity are defined as excessive fat accumulation that may impair health.
A study by Micheal Boachie, a senior researcher at the University of the Witwatersrand, published in The Conversation last year, said, “Based on our calculations being overweight and obesity are costing South Africa’s health system R33 billion a year.
“This represents 15.38% of government health expenditure and is equivalent to 0.67% of GDP (gross domestic product). Annual per person cost of overweight and obesity is R2 769,” the research found.
It said half of all adults in South Africa were overweight (23%) or obese (27%). And the World Obesity Federation anticipates an additional 10% increase (37%) in obesity among adults by 2030. This burden contributes to the country’s high prevalence of diabetes, or example.
Discovery Vitality CEO Dinesh Govender said: “We analysed almost 300 000 Vitality Health Checks completed across South Africa in 2022 to rank the cities according to the proportion of Vitality members who have a healthy weight.”
“Globally, research shows good nutrition and physical activity are important for managing weight. That is why we also analysed members’ physical activity and food purchasing data to give us insights into our members’ exercise and eating habits,” said Govender.
The results showed that:
– Johannesburg had the highest percentage of members logging a workout, while Bloemfontein had the lowest.
– Cape Town members had the highest percentage of healthy food purchases, while those in Pretoria had the least.
Govender said, “The obesity epidemic is a global challenge that is on the rise, and, as a nation, we have one of the highest rates worldwide – more than half of South African adults are overweight or obese. Maintaining a healthy weight is important for good health, as it helps prevent and even manage health conditions like diabetes, heart disease, or high blood pressure.
“The health risks associated with excess weight account for almost 3 million lives lost worldwide each year. We hope that the ObeCity Index highlights possible solutions, not only for Vitality members but for all South Africans,” he said.
Discovery Vitality said to enable more people to reach and maintain a healthy weight, it had launched the Vitality HealthyWeight programme, with the primary goal of supporting members who face greater health risks from being overweight or obese.
“Vitality HealthyWeight is a fully-personalised digital weight-management programme that gives members access to their very own dietitian,” it said
“From grocery shopping to cooking and meal preparation to the psychology of eating behaviours, members will get encouragement and personalised support five days a week to help them achieve their weight goals,” said Govender.
However, it comes with a price tag, starting from R250.
The Vitality HealthyWeight programme leverages the Discovery Vitality model. It said its members would be supported holistically from a nutritional, psychological and fitness perspective.
Discovery Vitality, which is owned by JSE-listed insurance firm Discovery, is a behaviour-change platform that guides and incentivises people towards better health, driving and financial behaviour by combining insights from behavioural economics with clinical and data science.
“We’ve also built incentives into the programme, because we know that this works to nudge people towards good health,” Govender said. Members on the programme get Vitality points after their check-ins.
“We want to see good health outcomes for those in our care and create positive behaviour change for the long term. It is not about fad diets and unhealthy methods for quick weight loss. Our goal is to have Vitality HealthyWeight enable sustainable, healthy weight loss for those who require it,” he said.
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