| Institution: | 1. Department of Epidemiology and Statistics, School of Public Health, Hebei Medical University, China;2. Department of Infection Control and Prevention, The Third Hospital of Hebei Medical University, China;3. National Institute for Nutrition and Food Safety, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, China |
| Abstract: | BackgroundThe prevalence of abdominal obesity is increasing dramatically worldwide. This study aimed to estimate the current prevalence of abdominal obesity from the 2011 China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) and compare the data with other countries.MethodsWaist circumference (WC) of 12,326 Chinese adults (aged 20 years or older) from the 2011 CHNS were analyzed by age group and region. Abdominal obesity was defined as a WC ≥90 cm for men and WC ≥80 cm for women based on World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations for Asians.ResultsIn 2011, the age-adjusted mean WC was 85.9 cm (95% confidence interval CI], 85.6–86.2 cm) for men and 80.7 cm (95% CI, 80.4–80.9 cm) for women. Based on the WHO recommendations, the age-adjusted prevalence of abdominal obesity was 44.0% (95% CI, 43.1%–44.8%) overall, 35.3% (95% CI, 34.1%–36.6%) in men, and 51.7% (95% CI, 50.5%–52.9%) in women. Moreover, the age-adjusted prevalence was 44.0% (95% CI, 42.7%–45.2%) in rural populations, 42.5% (95% CI, 40.7%–44.2%) in urban populations, and 45.2% (95% CI, 43.5%–46.9%) in megacity populations. The prevalence in China (35.3% for men and 51.7% for women) was lower than in Japan (50.8% for men) and the United States (43.5% for men and 64.7% for women). Similar results were observed when applying the criteria suggested by the Working Group on Obesity in China.ConclusionsIn 2011, the age-adjusted prevalence of abdominal obesity in China was 35.3% in men and 51.7% in women. |
