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. 2014 Dec 29;9(12):e116019.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0116019. eCollection 2014.

Secular trends in prevalence of overweight and obesity among adults in rural Tianjin, China from 1991 to 2011: a population-based study

Xianjia Ning  1 , Changqing Zhan  1 , Yihe Yang  2 , Li Yang  3 , Jun Tu  1 , Hongfei Gu  4 , Ta-Chen Su  5 , Jinghua Wang  1
Affiliations

Secular trends in prevalence of overweight and obesity among adults in rural Tianjin, China from 1991 to 2011: a population-based study

Xianjia Ning et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Objectives: Obesity is associated with cardiovascular diseases and has become the main public health issue in western countries and urban China. However, the prevalence and secular trends of obesity in rural China are currently unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate secular trends in the prevalence of overweight and obesity among rural adults in northern China between 1991 and 2011.

Method: The prevalence of overweight and obesity was assessed in adults aged 35-74 years living in a rural area in northern China by comparing two surveys that were conducted in 1991 and 2011, respectively.

Result: The age-adjusted prevalence of overweight increased from 24.5% in 1991 to 42.0% in 2011, and the prevalence of obesity increased from 5.7% in 1991 to 19.6% in 2011. Over the 21-year period, there were significant increases in the prevalence of overweight and obesity for both men and women in all age groups; however, the greatest increase was observed in men aged 35-44 years, with an 10.3-fold increase in obesity prevalence. The prevalence of obesity increased significantly in all risk factors categories, including education levels, blood pressure categories, diabetes previous history, current smoking situation and alcohol drinking situation over the past 21 years overall (p<0.05). The greatest increase in obesity prevalence appeared among those who consumed alcohol (increased by 8.0-fold). Next, there was a 5.3-fold increase in the prevalence of obesity in illiterate residents.

Conclusion: The prevalence of overweight and obesity has increased rapidly among rural adults in Tianjin over the past 21 years, with the most dramatic increase observed in young men. Therefore, the burden of obesity should serve as a call for action.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

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