Argentina

Obesity prevalence

% Adults living with obesity in Argentina 2005-2018

% Adults living with obesity in selected countries in the Americas Region 1960-2018

Overweight/obesity by education

Overweight/obesity by age

Overweight/obesity by socio-economic group

Insufficient physical activity

Average daily frequency of carbonated soft drink consumption

Estimated per-capita fruit intake

Prevalence of less-than-daily fruit consumption

Prevalence of less-than-daily vegetable consumption

Average weekly frequency of fast food consumption

Estimated per-capita processed meat intake

Estimated per-capita whole grains intake

Mental health - depression disorders

Mental health - anxiety disorders

Oesophageal cancer

Breast cancer

Colorectal cancer

Pancreatic cancer

Gallbladder cancer

Kidney cancer

Cancer of the uterus

Raised blood pressure

Raised cholesterol

Raised fasting blood glucose

Diabetes prevalence

Health systems

Health systems summary

The Argentinian health care system is set up to provide affordable health care regardless of an individual’s personal circumstances, but it is considered to be very fragmented. It is composed of three strands: the public sector available to all and paid for through taxes, Obras Sociales which is compulsory for all workers of the formal economy and the private sector for those with private health insurance. The Argentinian health system is therefore financially sustained by a combination of taxes, payroll contributions, and out-of-pocket contributions. The private sector accounts for 30% of total health expenditure, of which nearly 60% is from out-of-pocket expenditure.

It is thought that the different schemes in Argentina generally cover the same treatments but the difference lies in the quality of care. For the public sector, individuals must meet very strict criteria to be eligible for free care, but then you are still subject to long waiting lists. One stakeholder noted that the economic crisis had presented a challenge to the health system.

Summary of stakeholder feedback

The Argentinian health system was described as “fragmented”, made up of different subsystems that worked in different ways. Stakeholders felt that despite there being an “obesity law” in place, neither the government nor the health providers wholly recognised obesity as a disease. Government investment into obesity was considered to be low, and there was noted to be more resources dedicated to obesity treatment in the private sector.

There was a lack of consensus on the BMI level that people tended to be picked up by the system - perhaps suggesting inconsistency across the country and different health systems. There was, however, agreement that those that lived in rural areas struggled to access care. For those who could access care, they seemed to enter the system through primary or hospital care (and sometimes private institutes). Different reasons were given for people leaving the system, including cost, treatment ‘failure’, lack of follow-up or motivation and lack of referrals.

There is considered to be little to no specialist obesity training, but there seems to be limited training available for specific professionals such as nutritionists.

Stakeholders noted that there was a non-communicable disease strategy that mentioned obesity. The effectiveness of the strategy and the extent of implementation was, however, questioned. It was also noted that there are obesity-specific recommendations and guidelines e.g. clinical practice guidelines for diagnosis and treatment.

Overall, stakeholders felt that the obesity agenda in Argentina needed better leadership at a national level along with more financial support. Stakeholders did recognise, however, that there was several national programmes and initiatives attempting to address obesity.

Based on interviews/survey returns from 7 stakeholders

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