Patterns of body weight in the Baltic Republics

Abstract

Objective: Previously recorded rates of obesity in the Baltic Republics have been among the highest in the world although little is known about how they vary within the population. This study investigates the distribution of body mass index (BMI) and obesity in these countries. Design: Three cross-sectional surveys conducted in the summer of 1997. Setting: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Subjects: Representative national samples of adults with measured weight and height (Estonia: n = 1154; Latvia: n = 2292; Lithuania: n = 2096). Results: Between-country differences are particularly large among women: women from Latvia and Lithuania are approximately three times as likely to be obese as those from Estonia (17.4%, 18.3%, 6.0% respectively); only about one-third of this difference is explained by the sociodemographic and behavioural factors studied. In men, the prevalence of obesity varied only slightly among countries (Estonia: 9.9%; Latvia: 9.5%; Lithuania: 11.4%). While the prevalence of obesity increases with age within each republic, particularly in women, it is not associated with nationality or urban/ rural region, and no consistent association is observed with income. Obesity is inversely related to education in Latvia and in Lithuanian women. Latvian men and women and Lithuanian men who smoked had a lower prevalence of obesity than non-smokers. Leisure time physical activity was not associated with obesity. Conclusions: Obesity is a major health problem in the Baltic Republics, particularly among Latvian and Lithuanian women. The lack of association between obesity and most demographic, socioeconomic and behavioural factors suggests that the problem is generalized. Health promotion strategies aiming at preventing and controlling excess weight gain in the Baltic Republics will need to target the general population.

Body weight patterns in a country in transition: a population-based survey in Tirana City, Albania

“…Among the socio-economic and lifestyle factors examined in this study, only educational achievement and alcohol intake were significantly associated with the likelihood of being obese, and this only in women. In accordance with findings from other investigators 36,43 , there was a tendency for women with a lower education level to be more likely to be obese compared with those with a higher level of education. The lack of consistent relationship with standard socio-economic factors in this study (including with income -an observation also reported from surveys conducted in the Baltic countries 35 ) could be due to the dislocation of income and other measures of social status in a society such as Albania that has undergone a massive transformation in a very short time, making these constructs less relevant as determinants of behaviour 44 .…”

Determinants of obesity in transition economies: The case of Russia

“…We expect individual weight (and BMI) to increase with age, at least up to middle age, but eventually metabolism declines and the digestive system starts to lose its efficiency (Kaufmann, 2006). The study by Pomerleau et al (2000) show that the BMI in the Baltic countries increases with age and Abdulai (2005) finds a positive but concave relationship between age and BMI in Ghana. Therefore, we expect g 10 > 0 and g 11 < 0.…”

Incidence of Type 1 Diabetes in Lithuanians Aged 0–39 Years Varies by the Urban-Rural Setting, and the Time Change Differs for Men and Women During 1991–2000

“…In a national sample investigated in 1997, the prevalence of obesity among 20-to 34-year-old Lithuanians was 6% for both sexes but the prevalence of overweight was higher in men than in women, 34 and 19%, respectively, while 8% of women but no men were underweight (27). Thus, these differences in the prevalence of overweight are consistent with our findings of a greater increase of diabetes incidence in men compared with women in the corresponding age-groups.…”