Regional specific differences in prevalence of overweight/obesity in China: findings from China Kadoorie Biobank study in 10 areas in China / 中华流行病学杂志

ABSTRACT

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To describe gender and regional differences in the prevalence of overweight/obesity in adults found by China Kadoorie Biobank (CKB) study, involving 512 489 adults, in 10 areas in China.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The baseline survey of CKB was conducted in 5 urban areas and 5 rural areas in China during 2004-2008. After excluding those with extreme value of BMI (<15.0 kg/m(2) or >50 kg/m(2)), 512 489 subjects were included in the analysis. Overweight/obesity was classified according to BMI and WC, and diagnosed according to the guideline for prevention and control of overweight/obesity in Chinese adults. The gender and regional specific distributions of overweight/obesity were compared after adjusting for age.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The overall prevalence of overweight/obesity was higher in females (45.3%) than in males (41.7%), and the prevalence of central obesity was also higher in females (44.6%) than in males (38.3%). Both the prevalence of overweight/obesity (66.9% in males and 67.5% in females) and the central obesity (63.3% in males and 64.9% in females) were highest in Qingdao. The area specific difference in the prevalence was more obvious in males than in females. Rural areas all had the low prevalence except Henan. Moreover, central obesity was diagnosed in some subjects (15.3% in females, 9.8% in males) with normal/low BMI (<24.0 kg/m(2)). This phenomenon was more obvious in Qingdao (22.2% in males and 23.2% in females).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The prevalence of overweight/obesity in adults varied greatly across different areas in China.</p>