Trends in the prevalence of overweight, obesity, and abdominal obesity among Chinese adults between 1993 and 2015

Ma, Shujing; Xi, Bo; Yang, Liu; Sun, Jiahong; Zhao, Min; Bovet, Pascal

doi:10.1038/s41366-020-00698-x

Cited by 113 publications

(129 citation statements)

References 37 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

102

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Our ndings that the rates of such an increase in abdominal obesity prevalence varied by sex, age, and rural/urban regions are also a characteristic noted in other studies 1,23,34 . Although the root causes that induce the difference is not clear, disparities between subgroups in genetic, sociocultural, socioeconomic, and behavioral factors, such as disparities in calorie intake, knowledge and means to adopt healthy lifestyles as well as weight management programs, and mechanized transport and work, have been considered as potential drivers 30 .…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

Secular Trends in the Prevalence of Abdominal Obesity Among Chinese Adults With Normal Weight, 1993-2015

Sun

2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: We aimed to analyze updated prevalence data on abdominal obesity trends among Chinese adults with a normal body mass index (BMI).Methods: We used data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) conducted between 1993 and 2015. Results: Over the 23-year period, the age-standardized mean WC values showed a significant increasing trend among Chinese adults with BMI < 25 kg/m2, with the mean value increased from 73.8 cm to 78.2 cm (P for trend <0.001). During the period of 1993–2015, the age-standardized prevalence of abdominal obesity increased from 11.2% to 24.8% (P for trend <0.001). Significant increases were observed in both sexes, all age groups, rural and urban residents, and all educational attainment groups (all P for trends < 0.001), with a greater relative increase noted among men, younger participants, and rural residents. Similar significant trends were noted when a more stringent BMI < 23 kg/m2 cut point (Asian cut point) was applied.Conclusions: The mean WC and the prevalence of abdominal obesity among Chinese adults with normal BMI increased continuously from 1993 to 2015. The upward trends were noted in both sexes, all age groups, rural and urban regions, and all educational attainment groups.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

Secular Trends in the Prevalence of Abdominal Obesity Among Chinese Adults With Normal Weight, 1993-2015

Sun

2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The CHNS is a series of cross-sectional household-based surveys conducted by the Carolina Population Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the National Institute of Nutrition and Food Safety at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Full details of the study have been described elsewhere 1 , 14 , 16 . Briefly, the CHNS rounds were conducted in 1989, 1991, 1993, 1997, 2000, 2004, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2015, and 2019.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…With the dramatic shift in diet from traditional to western dietary patterns and a steep decline in physical activity levels that have followed the rapid urbanization and industrialization, increasing rates of obesity in China are especially alarming 1 , 2 . China has moved from 60th place for men and 41st place for women in 1975 to second for both men and women in 2014 in the worldwide ranking of the number of severely obese individuals 3 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Taken together, it is important to know the trends in abdominal obesity. Although trends in abdominal obesity in China have been evaluated in several studies 1 , 13 , very few studies describe the trends in abdominal obesity among individuals with normal BMI 14 . Given that Chinese population, who, despite being generally less obese, are more prone to visceral fat accumulation compared with western populations 15 , the increase in WC was more pronounced than the increase in BMI at given periods in China 13 , and that a considerable disease burden existed in people with normal BMI, it is imperative to study the prevailing trends in abdominal obesity among Chinese people with normal BMI.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Secular trends in the prevalence of abdominal obesity among Chinese adults with normal weight, 1993–2015

Sun

Liu

2021

Sci Rep

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A considerable chronic disease burden existed in people with normal body mass index (BMI), it is imperative to study the prevailing trends in abdominal obesity among Chinese people with normal BMI. Hence, we aimed to analyze updated prevalence data on abdominal obesity trends among Chinese adults with a normal BMI. We used data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) conducted between 1993 and 2015. Abdominal obesity is defined as waist circumference (WC) ≥ 90 cm for men and ≥ 80 cm for women following the International Diabetes Federation recommendations for Asians. Over the 23-year period, the age-standardized mean WC values showed a significant increasing trend among Chinese adults with BMI < 25 kg/m2, with the mean value increased from 74.0 cm to 78.5 cm (P for trend < 0.0001). During the period of 1993–2015, the age-standardized prevalence of abdominal obesity increased from 12.1 to 26.0% (P for trend < 0.0001). Significant increases were observed in both sexes, all age groups, rural and urban residents, and all educational attainment groups (all P for trends < 0.0001), with a greater relative increase noted among men, younger participants, and rural residents. Similar significant trends were noted when a more stringent BMI < 23 kg/m2 cut point (Asian cut point) was applied. A low magnitude of overlap existed between abdominal obesity and general obesity, irrespective of the criteria used. The mean WC and the prevalence of abdominal obesity among Chinese adults with normal BMI increased continuously from 1993 to 2015. The upward trends were noted in both sexes, all age groups, rural and urban regions, and all educational attainment groups. Our estimates emphasize the importance of adding WC in addition to BMI as measures to monitor obesity prevalence.

show abstract

“…But the main overall driver is likely to be China's exceptionally rapid economic growth [5]. While this has created more prosperity and reduced poverty, the flipside has been an equally rapid nutrition transition [6], away from more traditional and balanced foods to a gradual introduction of ultraprocessed junk food products [4,6]. Such changes in our diet are now increasingly being implicated in weight gain and obesity [7], as well as many other chronic diseases [8].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The unparalleled rise of obesity in China: a call to action

Hemmingsson

2021

Int J Obes

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Whenever civilisations ignore a problem, they will inevitably experience increasingly louder wake-up calls, of which the year 2020 is certainly a telling example. When it comes to obesity in the Western hemisphere, mainly North America and Europe, there have been many such instances over the decades, most of them thoroughly ignored, to the countries clear detriment. A recent example from February 2020 was when obesity in the US (data from 2017 to 2018) reached 42% among adults, with severe obesity (BMI ≥ 40 kg/m 2) approaching double digits at 9% [1]. While European nations are behind the US, the same upward trajectory is certainly present, especially in socially vulnerable populations [2, 3]. The corresponding numbers in the Eastern hemisphere, mainly Asia, are generally lower still, but this appears to be changing. In this issue of the journal Ma et al. [4], convincingly show that China is in the midst of a severely alarming increase in obesity, particularly abdominal obesity. When these increases are combined with the sheer size of China's population, we are likely witnessing an unparalleled development, at least in scope. Using a series of cross-sectional surveys between 1993 and 2015, including~70,000 adults from different regions of China, Ma et al. calculated overall and subgroup trends, using standardisation to account for variations between surveys in important prognostic variables, such as age, gender, etc. They also carried out extensive sensitivity analyses to test the robustness of their findings. While there are always limitations in using multiple crosssectional surveys to study population trends, which the authors discuss and acknowledge, we can nevertheless be reasonably confident that the findings are both valid and representative of the development of obesity and abdominal obesity in Chinese adults since 1993. A particularly

show abstract

Trends in the prevalence of overweight, obesity, and abdominal obesity among Chinese adults between 1993 and 2015

Cited by 113 publications

References 37 publications

Secular Trends in the Prevalence of Abdominal Obesity Among Chinese Adults With Normal Weight, 1993-2015

Secular Trends in the Prevalence of Abdominal Obesity Among Chinese Adults With Normal Weight, 1993-2015

Secular trends in the prevalence of abdominal obesity among Chinese adults with normal weight, 1993–2015

The unparalleled rise of obesity in China: a call to action

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About