EXPLAINED: Why are most Spaniards slim?

So are Spaniards really that slim or is it just all about perception?

According to the Health and Wellbeing report, prepared by the consulting firm Nielsen, Spaniards are the Europeans who look the thinnest, but also those who believe they are the most overweight.

According to their data, only 28 percent consider that they are at their ideal weight, eleven points below the European average of 39 percent.

In the study, Spaniards say that in order to stay slim or lose weight, they purchase foods that are lower in fat and salt, as well as unsweetened drinks.

But, there may be several other reasons as to why many believe that Spaniards are slim and why you don’t see a lot of overweight people here.

Spaniards walk a lot

Spanish people, like most Europeans, walk a lot, especially if they live in big cities and don’t own a car. This is contrary to many Americans who are not used to walking such long distances and where public transport is not so efficient, so many more rely on cars.

According to a study carried out by the app WeWard among eight million users spread across France, Spain, Italy, Belgium and Germany, Spaniards walk the most number of steps per day out of the five countries – more than 5,000.

Main meals are eaten at lunchtime

Another reason could be that they eat their main meal in the middle of the day instead of in the evening. Researchers and health experts throughout the world agree that for optimal health, it's best to consume most of your calories earlier in the day rather than later. By eating your main meal a lunchtime instead of in the evening you have more time to burn calories throughout the afternoon, rather than simply eating dinner and then going to bed.

The Mediterranean diet

Thirdly, the Spanish diet is what’s seen as a Mediterranean diet, cooking a lot with olive oil, eating lots of seafood and fresh fruits and vegetables that are in season. This is seen by nutritionists as one of the world’s healthiest diets.

Alcohol in moderation

Lastly, Spaniards drink alcohol in moderation. There’s hardly any binge drinking and glasses of wine or beer are almost always consumed with a meal or plates of tapas. Health experts agree that alcohol contributes to weight gain because it's high in calories.

The latest report from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) - Health at a Glance 2023 shows just 10 percent of people in Spain admit to binge drinking – one of the lowest out of 29 OECD countries.

The situation is changing

Despite all this, a recent study by the General Council of Pharmaceutical Colleges has evaluated the nutritional status of Spaniards and the results show that half of the population is either overweight or obese. This means that perhaps the Spaniards are actually not as thin as many believe.

The perception is boosted by beliefs that Spaniards have about their own health as three out of four people in Spain perceive that their health is good or very good, and 71 percent say follow the Mediterranean diet.

While the traditional Mediterranean diet is said to be very good for you, is the typical Spanish diet really that healthy and is it truly a Mediterranean diet?

As well as olive oil, lots of seafood and fresh tomatoes, the Spanish diet also includes a lot of fried food, which most experts agree is not good for us and contributes to weight gain. For example, most tapas dishes are fried – from croquettes and calamari to patatas bravas and battered fish. Even the vegetables are fried – Padrón peppers and battered aubergines drizzled with treacle.

Spaniards also eat a lot of red meat – mainly pork and beef, another food group which is said to increase your weight and cholesterol levels. Spain in fact consumes seven million tonnes of meat each year, which comes from the slaughter of 70 million animals.

The Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition recommends a weekly consumption of between 200 and 500 grammes of meat (carne in Spanish), while Spaniards consume on average more than one kilo. This is between two and five times more than what is considered optimal.

In 2021, Consumer Affairs Minister Alberto Garzón caused outrage by asking Spaniards to consume less meat, both for their health and to help the environment. There was uproar again in 2022 when Garzón claimed in an interview with British newspaper The Guardian that mega-farms are damaging the environment and leading to the export of poor-quality meat from Spain.

Most main meals in Spanish restaurants contain some form of meat or fish and in fact, very few are served with a lot of fresh vegetables.

The seventh edition of Plenufar, the study from the General Council of Pharmaceutical Colleges, also discovered that 13 percent of the population is at risk of developing cardiovascular diseases.

Data from the Ministry of Health supports this by showing that cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death in Spain, accounting for 33.71 percent of total deaths. 

This goes to show that being slim doesn’t necessarily equate to being healthy.

Despite all of this, according to the latest United Nations Population Division report, Spain has the eighth highest life expectancy in the world at 84.05 years.