Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-fscjk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-18T06:43:38.457Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Large heterogeneity of the obesity epidemic in Danish adults

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2007

Berit L Heitmann ,
Ulla Strøger ,
Kim L Mikkelsen ,
Claus Holst  and
Thorkild IA Sørensen
Berit L Heitmann*
Affiliation:
Research Unit for Dietary Studies, Copenhagen Centre for Prospective Population Studies† and Danish Epidemiology Science Centre at the Institute for Preventive Medicine, Copenhagen University Hospital, Denmark Research Unit for Dietary Studies, Institute of Preventive Medicine, Kommunehospitalet, DK-1399 Copenhagen K, Denmark
Ulla Strøger
Affiliation:
Research Unit for Dietary Studies, Copenhagen Centre for Prospective Population Studies† and Danish Epidemiology Science Centre at the Institute for Preventive Medicine, Copenhagen University Hospital, Denmark
Kim L Mikkelsen
Affiliation:
Research Unit for Dietary Studies, Copenhagen Centre for Prospective Population Studies† and Danish Epidemiology Science Centre at the Institute for Preventive Medicine, Copenhagen University Hospital, Denmark
Claus Holst
Affiliation:
Research Unit for Dietary Studies, Copenhagen Centre for Prospective Population Studies† and Danish Epidemiology Science Centre at the Institute for Preventive Medicine, Copenhagen University Hospital, Denmark
Thorkild IA Sørensen
Affiliation:
Research Unit for Dietary Studies, Copenhagen Centre for Prospective Population Studies† and Danish Epidemiology Science Centre at the Institute for Preventive Medicine, Copenhagen University Hospital, Denmark
*
*Corresponding author: Email [email protected]
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.
Objective:

To examine to what extent the obesity epidemic is a general phenomenon in adults by assessing the secular change, by birth cohort and age, in the prevalence of obesity and median body mass index (BMI) in Danish men and women measured between 1964 and 1994.

Design:

Multiple cross-sectional population surveys.

Setting:

The greater Copenhagen area of Denmark.

Subjects:

The study included 17 065 men (30 336 observations) and 13 417 women (24 065 observations), aged 20–84 years.

Main outcome measures:

Trends in median BMI and prevalence of obesity estimated from measured height and weight in 10-year age groups.

Results:

In general the prevalence of obesity was increasing, although in an irregular way: among men in two phases, during the 1970s and 1990s and among women only during the 1990s. Great heterogeneity was observed between birth cohorts and age groups. There was only little indication of an increasing trend in obesity prevalence for women, except for the 55–64-year-olds. In men, the prevalence of obesity was increasing in all age groups except in the youngest ones, and it was statistically significant only for men aged 35–74 years. There was no significant linear change in median BMI in any group, except for an increasing trend among men aged 50 years and above.

Conclusion:

Although the overall Danish trend for obesity prevalence, similar to trends world-wide, showed a marked increase, the trend was very heterogeneous and generally neither uniform nor significantly positive; the changes were irregular, different among men and women, and different in the different age and birth cohorts. The obesity problem in middle-aged and older men of certain birth cohorts poses a specific public health challenge. Future studies of determinants behind the heterogeneity in the development of the obesity epidemic may provide clues to its causes.

Keywords

Time trendsBody mass indexObesityPrevalencePublic health
Type
Research Article
Information
Public Health Nutrition , Volume 7 , Issue 3 , May 2004 , pp. 453 - 460
Copyright
Copyright © CAB International 2004

References

1World Health Organization (WHO). Obesity: Preventing and Managing the Global Epidemic. Report of a WHO Consultation on Obesity, Geneva, 3-5 June 1997. Geneva: WHO, 1978; 1–276.Google Scholar
2Heitmann, BL. Ten-year trends in overweight and obesity among Danish men and women aged 30–60 years. International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders 2000; 24 1347–52.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
3Kjøller, M, Rasmussen, NK. Sundhed og sygelighed i Danmark 2000 & udviklingen siden 1987 [Health and Morbidity in Denmark year 2000 & Development since 1987]. Copenhagen: Statens Institut for Folkesundhed, 2002; 1–561.Google Scholar
4Sonne-Holm, S, Sørensen, TIA. Post-war course of the prevalence of extreme overweight among Danish young men. Journal of Chronic Diseases 1977; 30: 351–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
5Sørensen, HT, Sabroe, S, Gillman, M, Rothman, KJ, Madsen, KM, Fischer, P, et al. Continued increase in prevalence of obesity in Danish young men. International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders 1997; 21: 712–4.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
6Thomsen, BL, Ekstrøm, C, Sørensen, TIA. Development of the obesity epidemic in Denmark: cohort, time and age effects among boys born 1930–1975. International Journal of Obesity 1999; 23: 693–701.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
7Tverdal, A. Høyde, vekt og kroppsmasseindeks for menn og kvinder I aldermen 40–42 år [Height, weight and body mass index of men and women aged 40–42 years]. Tidsskrift for den Norske Laegeforening 1996; 116: 2152–6.Google Scholar
8Pietinen, P, Vartiainen, E, Männistö, S. Trends in body mass index and obesity among adults in Finland from 1972 to 1992. International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders 1996; 20: 114–20.Google ScholarPubMed
9Lissner, L, Björkelund, C, Heitmann, BL, Lapidus, L, Bjorntorp, P, Bengtsson, C. Secular increases in waist-hip ratio among Swedish women. International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders 1998; 22: 1116–20.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
10Kuskowska-Wolk, A, Bergström, R. Trends in body mass index and prevalence of obesity in Swedish women 1980–89. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 1993;47: 195–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
11 Norden ital. [The Nordic Countries in Figures in the year of 1995]. Report of the Nordiska Statistiska Sekretariatet. Copenhagen: Nord Publikation, 1995; 1–44.Google Scholar
12Andersen, LB, Vestbo, J, Juel, K, Bjerg, AM, Keiding, N, Jensen, G, et al. A comparison of mortality rates in three prospective studies from Copenhagen with mortality rates in the central part of the city, and the entire country. Copenhagen Centre for Prospective Population Studies. European Journal of Epidemiology 1998; 14: 579–85.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
13Appleyard, M, Hansen, AT, Schnohr, P. The Copenhagen City Heart Study: a book of tables with data from the first examination (1976–78) and a five year follow-up (1981–83). Scandinavian Journal of Social Medicine 1989; 170: 1–160.Google Scholar
14Hagerup, L, Eriksen, M, Schroll, M, Hollnagel, H, Agner, E, Larsen, S. The Glostrup population studies: collection of epidemiologic tables: reference values for use in cardiovascular population studies. Scandinavian Journal of Social Medicine 1981; 20(Suppl. 1): 20.Google ScholarPubMed
15Hein, HO, Suadicani, P, Gyntelberg, F. Alcohol consumption, serum low density lipoprotein cholesterol concentration, risk of ischaemic heart disease; six year follow up in the Copenhagen Male Study. British Medical Journal 1996; 312: 736–41.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
16Sonne-Holm, S, Sørensen, TIA, Jensen, G, Schnohr, P. Influence of fatness, intelligence, education and sociodemographic factors on response rate in a health survey. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 1989; 43: 369–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
17Nordic Medical Statistical Committee (NOMESCO). Health Statistics in the Nordic Countries 1966–1991. Copenhagen: NOMESCO, 1991.Google Scholar
18Heitmann, BL, Lissner, L, Osler, M. Do we eat less fat, or just report so? International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders 2000; 24: 435–42.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
19Johansson, L, Drevon, CA, Bjørnboe, GEA. The Norwegian diet during the last hundred years in relation to coronary heart disease. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1996; 50: 277–83.Google ScholarPubMed
20Pietinen, P, Vartiainen, E, Seppanen, R, Aro, A, Puska, P. Changes in diet in Finland from 1972 to 1992: impact on coronary heart disease risk. Preventive Medicine 1996; 25: 243–50.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
21Andersen, NL, Fagt, S, Groth, M, Hartkopp, HB, Møller, A, Ovesen, L, et al. Danskernes kostvaner 1995 – hovedresultater [National Dietary Survey of Denmark]. Publication No. 235. Copenhagen: The National Food Agency, 1996.Google Scholar
22Osler, M. Smoking habits in Denmark from 1953 to 1991: a comparative analysis of results from three nationwide health surveys among adult Danes in 1953–1954, 1986–1987 and 1990–1991. International Journal of Epidemiology 1992; 21: 862–71.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
23Danskernes dodelighed I 1990'erne: 1. delrapport fra Middellevetidsudvalget, Sundhedsministeriet [Mortality among Danes in the 1990s: First part of a report from the Commission of Median Life Expectancy – Ministry of Health]. Copenhagen: Nyt Nordisk Forlag Arnold Busck A/S, 1998; 1–96.Google Scholar
24Vartiainen, E, Sarti, C, Tuomilehto, J, Kuulasmaa, K. Do changes in cardiovascular risk factors explain changes in mortality from stroke in Finland? British Medical Journal 1995; 310: 901–4.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
25Rønneberg, A, Lund, KE, Hafsted, A. Lifetime smoking habits among Norwegian men and women born between 1890 and 1974. International Journal of Epidemiology 1994; 23: 267–76.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
26Tobaksvanor i Sverige. En oversikt och analys [Smoking habits in Sweden. Overview and Analysis]. Stockholm: Socialstyrelsen redovisar, 1986; 9.Google Scholar
27Ramström, LM, Tibblin, H. Tobaksvanor i Sverige. Resultat fra NTS undersökningar 1976–1989 [Smoking Habits in Sweden. Results from the NTS, 1976–1989]. Stockholm: NTA, 1989.Google Scholar
28Armitage, B, Babb, P. Population review: (4). Trends in fertility. Population Trends 1996; 84: 7–13.Google Scholar
29Prentice, AM, Jebb, SA. Obesity in Britain: gluttony or sloth? British Medical Journal 1995; 311: 437–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
30Niemi, I ed. Time Use of Women in Europe and North America. New York/Geneva: United Nations, 1995; 1–22.Google Scholar
31Sobal, J, Stunkard, AJ. Socioeconomic status and obesity: a review of the literature. Psychological Bulletin 1989; 105: 260–75.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
32Klesges, RC, Klem, ML, Hanson, CL, Eck, LH, Ernst, J, O'Laughlin, D et al. The effects of applicant's health status and qualifications on simulated hiring decisions. International Journal of Obesity 1990; 14: 527–35.Google ScholarPubMed
33Siarlio-Lähteenkorva, S, Lahelma, E. The association of body mass index with social and economic disadvantage in women and men. International Journal of Epidemiology 1999; 28: 445–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
34Rodin, J. Cultural and psychological determinants of weight concerns. Annals of Internal Medicine 1993; 119: 643–5.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
35Wardle, J, Griffith, J. Socioeconomic status and weight control practices in British adults. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 2001; 55: 185–90.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
36Puhl, R, Brownell, KD. Bias, discrimination, and obesity. Obesity Research 2001; 9: 788–805.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
37Li, R, Jewell, S, Grummer-Strawn, L. Maternal obesity and breast feeding practices. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2003; 77: 931–6.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
38Collaborative Group of Hormonal Factors in Breast Cancer. Breast cancer and breastfeeding: collaborative reanalysis of individual data from 47 epidemiological studies in 30 countries, including 50,302 women with breast cancer and 96,973 women without the disease. Lancet 2002; 360: 187–95.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
39Rose, G. Population distributions of risk and disease. Nutrition, Metabolism & Cardiovascular Diseases 1991; 1: 37–40.Google Scholar