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. 2022 Nov 30;12(11):e062651.
doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-062651.

Trends in the prevalence of metabolically healthy and unhealthy obesity in the US adult population: analysis of eight NHANES cross-sectional survey cycles, 1999-2014

Yue Wen  1 , Tingting Liu  2 , Shengxu Li  3 , Renrong Gong  4 , Changwei Li  5
Affiliations

Trends in the prevalence of metabolically healthy and unhealthy obesity in the US adult population: analysis of eight NHANES cross-sectional survey cycles, 1999-2014

Yue Wen et al. BMJ Open. .

Abstract

Objective: To exam the time trend of the prevalence of metabolically healthy obesity (MHO) in the US adult population.

Design: Eight cross-sectional survey cycles.

Setting: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), 1999-2014.

Participants: 16 459 NHANES participants aged 20 years and older.

Primary outcome measure: MHO was defined as central obesity (waist circumference ≥102 cm for men and ≥88 cm for women) without any of the following conditions: elevated levels of blood pressure (≥130/85 mm Hg), glucose (≥100 mg/dL) and triglycerides (≥150 mm/dL); reduced levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (<40 mg/dL for men and <50 mg/dL for women) or any medication use for high cholesterol, hypertension or diabetes.

Results: The prevalence of central obesity significantly increased from 45.2% in 1999-2000 to 56.7% in 2013-2014 (p=0.003). Over the same period, MHO prevalence among those with central obesity only slightly and non-significantly increased from 11.0% to 15.7% (p=0.38). However, MHO prevalence among women increased significantly (p=0.04) from 7.1% to 13.7%. Female gender, a younger age, being Hispanic and non-Hispanic black and high education (some college or above) were significantly (p<0.05) associated with higher prevalence of MHO.

Conclusions: While the prevalence of central obesity in the US population has increased since 1999, the prevalence of MHO among those who are centrally obese remained fairly stable.

Keywords: EPIDEMIOLOGY; General endocrinology; PUBLIC HEALTH.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Prevalence and time trends of central obesity, overall and by sex. Trend line and the corresponding formula were generated for obesity among the overall participants using the Excel trendline function.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Prevalence and time trends of metabolic healthy obesity by sex. Trend lines and the corresponding formulas were generated using the Excel trendline function.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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