Trends in BMI among Belgian children, adolescents and adults from 1969 to 1996

Hulens, Mieke; Beunen, Gastón; Claessens, Albrecht; Lefevre, Johan; Thomis, Martine; Philippaerts, Renaat; Borms, Jan; Vrijens, Jacques; Lysens, Roeland; Vansant, Greet

doi:10.1038/sj.ijo.0801513

Cited by 76 publications

(62 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…In most studies, the lower part of the BMI distribution has been found to remain unchanged. In the upper BMI range, although, it has been seen that there is a similar pattern of increase among other populations (Troiano and Flegal, 1998;Hulens et al, 2001). In Aachen (former western part of Germany), between 1966 and 1999, a BMI increase was observed in preschool children.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 62%

Trends in overweight and obesity and changes in the distribution of body mass index in schoolchildren of Jena, East Germany

Kromeyer-Hauschild

Zellner

2006

Eur J Clin Nutr

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Objective: Data of Jena children (Germany) show increases in the prevalence estimates of overweight and obesity between 1975 and 2001. Our objective was to determine if these increases contribute to changes in the distribution of body mass index (BMI) in the entire population of children. The decade 1985-1995, which includes the time of German reunification, is of particular interest because of the significant socio-economic changes in East Germany, in which Jena is located. Design and subjects: The analyses were based on data from four cross-sectional growth studies in 7-to 14-year-old children performed in Jena, Germany, in 1975 (n ¼ 2013), 1985 (n ¼ 1534), 1995 (n ¼ 1906 (n ¼ 1918. Overweight and obesity were estimated by German reference data and the reference of Cole et al. Mean difference plots were used to investigate the changes in the BMI distributions within sexes between the studies. Results: Between 1985 and 1995, the prevalence of overweight and obesity increased significantly in both sexes, whereas nonsignificant changes were found between 1975 and 1985. Although there is a tendency towards increased overweight between 1995 and 2001, the differences were nonsignificant. Comparing data from 1975 and 1985, the mean difference plots showed virtually no changes in the BMI distribution. In the plots comparing the BMI distribution for 1985 data and 1995 data, the whole distribution tended to shift upwards with a greater shift in the upper BMI range. The entire population of children in Jena gained weight during this period of time. This increase may be linked to a transition towards a more Western lifestyle, that is, usually by lower energy expenditure and nutritional transitions, caused by the process of reunification of Germany in 1989. Conclusions: Weight gain appears to be a characteristic feature of the entire population studied and does not seem to be a separate problem of the obese children. This suggests that reported changes in the prevalence may be underestimating the looming public health crisis.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 62%

Trends in overweight and obesity and changes in the distribution of body mass index in schoolchildren of Jena, East Germany

Kromeyer-Hauschild

Zellner

2006

Eur J Clin Nutr

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“…24 Secular and socio-occupational variation in BMI S Kozieł et al 27 Overweight and obesity in late adolescence tend to track into adulthood. 28,29 Although the prevalence of obesity is low in young adult Polish males, a continued increase in prevalence has the potential for an increase in obesityrelated health consequences.…”

Section: Secular and Socio-occupational Variation In Bmi S Kozieł Et Almentioning

confidence: 99%

Changes in the BMI of Polish conscripts between 1965 and 2001: secular and socio-occupational variation

et al. 2006

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“…In the United States, the prevalences of overweight in children and adolescents have doubled and almost tripled respectively since the 1960s. 1 These trends have been observed in all parts of the worldFin affluent societies [2][3][4][5] as well as in developing countries. 6 However, most previous studies have used different definitions of childhood obesity, and thus reported trends were difficult to compare internationally.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of social class on time trends in BMI distribution in 5-year-old French children from 1989 to 1999

Romon

Duhamel²,

Collinet³

et al. 2004

Int J Obes

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AIMS:To assess the prevalence of obesity and changes in body mass index (BMI) distribution between 1989 and 1999 in 5-y-old children, and to study the influence of parental socioeconomic status on these parameters. METHODS: Two cohorts of children in the final year of nursery school (in the city of Lille, France) were enrolled in 1989 (705 children: mean age ¼ 5.670.4 y) and 1999 (1258 children: mean age ¼ 5.670.5 y). Weight and height were measured, and data about parental occupation were collected during a school medical examination. International Obesity Task Force cutoff points were used to define overweight and obesity. Parental occupation was classified into four categories. RESULTS: The prevalence of obesity increased from 1.8 to 4.9%, and the prevalence of overweight rose from 9.6 to 16.9%. Mean-difference plots allowed qualitative comparisons of the BMI distribution between the surveys: for children from the highest social classes, there was no change in BMI; for children from intermediate classes, there was a up-shift only in the upper part of the distribution with the heaviest children becoming heavier still; finally, for children from the lowest class, there was an increase in BMI across the entire population. CONCLUSIONS: This study of the changes in BMI distribution gives greater insight into the 'obesity epidemic'. Our results show the influence of an interaction between genetic and environmental factors. The increase in BMI in the upper part of the distribution suggests that this is a population with a high degree of susceptibility, whereas the increase in BMI across the whole population in the lowest social class suggests a strong influence of the environment on this group and thus the necessity of appropriate, preventive measures. IntroductionThe increasing rate of adult obesity worldwide has been paralleled by similar (and often even greater) increases in the proportion of overweight children. In the United States, the prevalences of overweight in children and adolescents have doubled and almost tripled respectively since the 1960s. 1 These trends have been observed in all parts of the worldFin affluent societies 2-5 as well as in developing countries. 6 However, most previous studies have used different definitions of childhood obesity, and thus reported trends were difficult to compare internationally. Recently, the Childhood Obesity Working Group proposed a new international body mass index (BMI) reference for defining overweight and obesity for children and adolescents aged 2-18 y. 7 These cutoff values are based on pooled international data for BMI, and are linked to the attainment of adult cutoff points of 25 and 30 kg/m 2 for obesity and overweight, respectively.These cutoff values enable us to compare the prevalence of obesity and overweight between countries but do not fully explain changes in BMI distribution within a population. An increase in mean BMI may be attributable to either a shift in E-mail: mromon@univ-lille2.fr M Romon supervised the survey and analysis of data and prepa...

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Trends in BMI among Belgian children, adolescents and adults from 1969 to 1996

Cited by 76 publications

References 14 publications

Trends in overweight and obesity and changes in the distribution of body mass index in schoolchildren of Jena, East Germany

Trends in overweight and obesity and changes in the distribution of body mass index in schoolchildren of Jena, East Germany

Changes in the BMI of Polish conscripts between 1965 and 2001: secular and socio-occupational variation

Influence of social class on time trends in BMI distribution in 5-year-old French children from 1989 to 1999

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