Survey on the prevalences of overweight and obesity in 9 rural areas in Hanzhong, Shaanxi province / 中国医学科学院学报

ABSTRACT

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the prevalences of overweight and obesity in the rural communities in Hanzhong, Shaanxi Province.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A total of 3030 residents in the rural areas of Hanzhong city were selected by stratified random sampling method to take questionnaire-based survey and physical examinations.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The data of 3017 valid subjects (1048 men and 1969 women) entered the final analysis. The average body mass index was (22.9±4.2) kg/m(2) [(23.0±5.5) kg/m(2) in men and (22.9±3.2) kg/m(2) in women]. The prevalence rates of overweight and obesity were 27.9% and 5.9% respectively, and the standardized rates were 23.4% and 5.4%, respectively. More specifically, prevalence rates of overweight and obesity were 28.3% and 6.1% in men (standardized rates were 24.7% and 7.5%, respectively) and 27.6% and 5.8% (standardized rate were 22.8% and 4.5% respectively) in women. The overweight/obesity was more often in young and mid-aged married men with higher education and socioeconomic status and in middle-aged and older women with less education from wealthier households.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The prevalences of overweight and obesity are relatively high in the rural areas of Hanzhong, and therefore effective interventions are warranted.</p>