Italy really is losing weight because of the economic crisis
Published on 26/1/2013
One piece of good news and one piece of bad news: Italians are losing weight, and that is a good sign for people's medical health, but if we look at the reasons there is little to smile about, because at the root of it all is the economic crisis that is emptying Italians' wallets.
This is the figure that emerges from a survey conducted by Coldiretti based on Istat data, and it is all the more significant because it represents a reversal of the trend after 20 years. The weight loss among Italian citizens is said to be substantial, affecting 1.5% of the population — over 250,000 people — and even more pronounced in the south, where there is a 2.2% increase in people who have reached their "ideal weight" and a 1% increase among women who now wear "the right size."
The data, however, highlight the negative side of the matter: a worsening in the quality of nutrition. The survey reveals a decrease in the consumption of foods typical of the Mediterranean diet, such as fresh fish (-3.4%) or fruit (-1.9%), which have undergone the largest price increases, while there is an increase in purchases of low-cost products.