Increase in Body Weight Following Residential Displacement: 5-year Follow-up After the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami

Abstract

Background Previous studies have linked residential displacement as a result of the 2011 East Japan Earthquake to increases in body weight. However, no study has examined longer-term trajectories of body weight among displaced survivors. We compared body weight change between survivors relocated to temporary housing (TH) group versus other types of accommodation for up to 5 years after the Great East Japan Earthquake. Methods Longitudinal follow-up was conducted from 2011 to 2015 in a cohort of 9,909 residents of 42,831. We compared trends in body weight in the TH group ( n = 3,169) and the non-TH group ( n = 6,740) using a mixed linear regression model stratified by sex (mean age, 61.0 years old; male, 38.9%). Results In age-adjusted analysis, the body weight in the 2011 survey was not significantly different between two groups for either sex. In men, the TH group significantly increased body weight compared to the non-TH group since 2012. In women, body weight sharply increased in the TH group while body weight did not change in the non-TH group during survey time points. The interaction of living conditions and survey years was statistically significant in both sexes (men; F-value, 6.958; P < 0.001: women; F-value, 19.127; P < 0.001). Conclusion Survivors relocated to temporary housing had an increased risk of weight gain. The weight gain in this group is a potential risk factor for metabolic syndrome in the post-disaster period.

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“… 39 Furthermore, weight gain after the disaster was more pronounced among temporary housing residents than among those who not residing in temporary housing. 40 These results show a similar trend to the CHC results; therefore, prolonged evacuation appeared to have some effect on the development of lifestyle-related diseases.…”

A systematic review of the burden of, access to services for and perceptions of patients with overweight and obesity, in humanitarian crisis settings

“…Forty reports considered displaced populations, while four considered non-displaced populations [ 54 , 58 , 75 , 84 ] and ten included both displaced and non-displaced participants [ 49 , 61 , 62 , 74 , 78 – 83 ]. Displacement status was unclear for two reports [ 71 , 85 ].…”

“…Forty-seven reports used WHO recommended BMI cut-offs of 25 kg/m 2 and 30 kg/m 2 to define overweight and obesity, respectively [ 97 ] or regional variations. Nine reports used non-standard definitions where a single cut-off was applied for both overweight and obesity, or no justification was given for the choice of cut-off used [ 43 , 45 , 65 , 76 , 77 , 80 , 81 , 83 , 85 ].…”

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