Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2019 Mar 6;14(3):e0213254.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0213254. eCollection 2019.

Adult body weight trends in 27 urban populations of Brazil from 2006 to 2016: A population-based study

Renzo Flores-Ortiz  1 , Deborah Carvalho Malta  1 , Gustavo Velasquez-Melendez  1
Affiliations

Adult body weight trends in 27 urban populations of Brazil from 2006 to 2016: A population-based study

Renzo Flores-Ortiz et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Objective: We aimed to estimate trends in population-level adult body weight indicators in the 26 state capitals and the Federal District of Brazil.

Methods: Self-reported weight and height data of 572,437 adults were used to estimate the mean body mass index (BMI), and the prevalence of BMI categories ranging from underweight to morbid obesity, in Brazil's state capitals and Federal District, from 2006 to 2016, by sex. All estimates were standardized by age.

Results: From 2006 to 2016, the main findings showed that: (i) the overall mean BMI increased from 25.4 kg/m2 to 26.3 kg/m2 in men, and from 24.5 kg/m2 to 25.8 kg/m2 in women; (ii) the overall prevalence of overweight increased from 48.1% to 57.5% in men, and from 37.8% to 48.2% in women; (iii) the overall prevalence of obesity increased from 11.7% to 18.1% in men, and from 12.1% to 18.8% in women; (iv) in general, the largest increases in overweight and obesity prevalence were found in state capitals located in the north, northeast, and central-west regions of Brazil; (v) the prevalence of severe obesity surpassed the prevalence of underweight in 22 and 9 state capitals among men and women, respectively; and (vi) the mean BMI trend was stable only in Vitória state capital in men.

Conclusions: The policies for preventing and treating obesity in Brazil over the past years were not able to halt the increase in obesity prevalence either in the state capitals or the Federal District. Thus, a revision of policies is warranted. Furthermore, although policies are necessary in all state capitals, our results suggest that policies are especially necessary in the north, northeast, and central-west regions' state capitals, where, in general, the largest increases in overweight and obesity prevalence were experienced.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. State capitals, Federal District, and macro-regions of Brazil.
The territory of Brazil is composed of 26 states and a Federal District. The grey lines depict the states’ limits. The white dots indicate the location of the states’ capitals and the Federal District. The colored areas represent the five macro-regions of Brazil.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Trends in age-standardized mean BMI in Brazil’s state capitals, from 2006 to 2016, among men (A) and women (B).
The solid line represents the mean BMI and the shaded area the 95% confidence interval. For numerical results see S1 and S2 Tables. BMI = body mass index.
Fig 3
Fig 3. Age-standardized mean BMI in Brazil’s state capitals, in 2006 and 2016, among men (A) and women (B).
The state capitals are ordered from bottom to top by increase in mean BMI. For numerical results see S1 and S2 Tables. BMI = body mass index; CI = confidence interval.
Fig 4
Fig 4. Trends in age-standardized prevalence of underweight (BMI < 18.5 kg/m2), normal weight (18.5 kg/m2 ≤ BMI < 25 kg/m2), pre-obesity (25 kg/m2 ≤ BMI < 30 kg/m2), moderate obesity (30 kg/m2 ≤ BMI < 35 kg/m2), severe obesity (35 kg/m2 ≤ BMI < 40 kg/m2), and morbid obesity (BMI ≥ 40 kg/m2) in Brazil’s state capitals, from 2006 to 2016, among men (A) and women (B).
For numerical results see S3–S14 Tables. BMI = body mass index.
Fig 5
Fig 5. Age-standardized prevalence of overweight (BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2) in Brazil’s state capitals, in 2006 and 2016, among men (A) and women (B).
The state capitals are ordered from bottom to top by increase in prevalence of overweight. For numerical results see S15 and S16 Tables. BMI = body mass index; CI = confidence interval.
Fig 6
Fig 6. Age-standardized prevalence of obesity (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2) in Brazil’s state capitals, in 2006 and 2016, among men (A) and women (B).
The state capitals are ordered from bottom to top by increase in prevalence of obesity. For numerical results see S17 and S18 Tables. BMI = body mass index; CI = confidence interval.
Fig 7
Fig 7. Age-standardized distribution of BMI in Brazil’s state capitals, in 2006 and 2016, among men (A) and women (B).
BMI = body mass index.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. The GBD 2015 Obesity Collaborators. Health effects of overweight and obesity in 195 countries over 25 years. N Engl J Med. 2017; 377(1): 13–27. 10.1056/NEJMoa1614362 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Uzogara SG. Underweight, the less discussed type of unhealthy weight and its implications: a review. American Journal of Food Science and Nutrition Research. 2016; 3(5): 126–142.
    1. Dobbs R, Sawers C, Thompson F, Manyika J, Woetzel J, Child P, et al. Overcoming obesity: An initial economic analysis London: McKinsey Global Institute; 2014.
    1. NCD Risk Factor Collaboration. Trends in adult body-mass index in 200 countries from 1975 to 2014: a pooled analysis of 1698 population-based measurement studies with 19.2 million participants. Lancet. 2016; 387(10026): 1377–1396. 10.1016/S0140-6736(16)30054-X - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ng M, Fleming T, Robinson M, Thomson B, Graetz N, Margono C, et al. Global, regional, and national prevalence of overweight and obesity in children and adults during 1980–2013: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013. Lancet. 2014; 384(9945): 766–781. 10.1016/S0140-6736(14)60460-8 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types