Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To describe 8 y weight change in Chinese adults and to determine the baseline characteristics of those who gained weight.
DESIGN: A population-based cohort study of weight change and its predictors from 1989 to 1997.
PARTICIPANTS: A cohort of 2488 adults aged 20–45 in 1989 drawn from seven provinces in China using multistage, random cluster sampling.
MEASUREMENTS: Weight change over 8 y was the outcome variable. The key exposures were baseline energy intake, physical activity at work, alcohol consumption and smoking status. Baseline weight, weight status, height, age, residence, income and educational attainment were control variables.
RESULTS: Overweight (body mass index, BMI≥25 kg/m2) doubled in females (10.4–20.8%) and almost tripled in males (5.0–14.1%). Low physical activity was a strong predictor of weight gain. Compared to those whose weight remained stable (±2 kg/8 y), males and females who experienced large weight gain (>5 kg/8 y) were 3 and 1.8 times more likely to engage in light rather than heavy work-related physical activity.
CONCLUSION: The prevalence of overweight increased dramatically in this cohort. Light work-related physical activity was the strongest predictor of this weight gain.
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Acknowledgements
This study was conducted while Colin Bell was a postdoctoral research fellow at the Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, under funding from the Health Research Council of New Zealand and the National Institutes of Health. The China Health and Nutrition survey is a collaborative project between the Chinese Academy for Preventive Medicine and a group from the Carolina Population Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The study was supported in part by grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH, R01-HD30880 and R01-HD38700). We thank Frances Dancy for her assistance with the manuscript and Tom Swasey for graphics support.
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Bell, A., Ge, K. & Popkin, B. Weight gain and its predictors in Chinese adults. Int J Obes 25, 1079–1086 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0801651
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0801651
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