[Occurrence and development of overweight and obesity among adult Danes aged 30-60 years]

Abstract

The prevalence of obesity is increasing in most countries. So far, measured data on the development in BMI of Danish adults have largely been unavailable. The purpose of the present study was therefore to describe the 10-year trends between 1982-1992 in prevalences of over weight and obesity, measured by BMI, in 30-60 year-old men and women. The study was part of the Danish MONICA project and included 1940 men and 1844 women in 1982, and 808 men and 816 women in 1992. The data showed an increase in the prevalence of obesity (BMI > 30) from 10-13% in men, and from 9-11% in women (both p = 0.03). Increases in the prevalence of obesity were particularly pronounced among younger men and women, and among those with less than seven years of school education. The study demonstrates that trends for obesity in Denmark are comparable to trends in most other Western countries, and, furthermore, that the trend towards an increase in obesity is most pronounced among the socially disadvantaged.