The authors prospectively studied the effect of leisure-time physical activity level on hip fracture risk along with the influence of within-subject changes in activity levels, while taking possible confounding by other health behaviors and poor health into account. Analyses were based on pooled data from three population studies conducted in Copenhagen, Denmark. Among 13,183 women and 17,045 men, 1,121 first hip fractures were identified during follow-up. In comparison with being sedentary, the relative risk (RR) of hip fracture associated with being moderately physically active 2-4 hours per week was 0.72 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.59, 0.89) in women and 0.75 (95% CI: 0.55, 1.03) in men after adjustment for confounders. Being in the most active leisure activity category did not decrease the risk of hip fracture further. Adjustment for poor health affected the risk estimates only modestly. Subjects who, during follow-up, reduced their physical activity level from the highest or the intermediate activity level to a sedentary level had a higher risk of hip fracture than did those who remained moderately physically active at the intermediate level (multivariate adjusted RR = 2.19, 95% CI: 1.00, 4.84 and RR = 1.89, 95% CI: 1.21, 2.95, for reduction from the highest and intermediate levels, respectively). There was no evidence of a fracture-protective effect from increasing physical activity. In conclusion, moderate levels of physical activity appear to provide protection against later hip fracture. Decline in the physical activity level over time is an important risk factor for hip fracture.

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.

No abstract

In Great Britain and in Denmark, strong efforts have been made to influence knowledge on upper threshold for hazardous drinking. In Denmark, a campaign has been repeated every week 40 from 1990 to 2000 with information on the sensible drinking limits of 21 drinks per week for men and 14 drinks per week for women. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of this ongoing campaign on the level of knowledge of sensible drinking limits for men and women. Random representative samples of 1030 adult Danes were telephone interviewed each year during 1994-1999. Our main finding was that the level of knowledge of sensible drinking limits for own sex increased in all subsets of the population throughout the period. However, at the end of the study period (1999) a total of 80% of highly educated young (18-25 years) men knew sensible drinking limits for own sex, while only 35% of uneducated older (more than 65 years) men had knowledge on sensible drinking limits. The proportions were similar among women. Subjects admitting an intake higher than sensible for own sex, i.e. 21 and 14 drinks per week, respectively, had the highest knowledge of these drinking limits. We conclude that public health campaigns, such as the sensible drinking limit campaign, certainly has an impact on level of awareness in the general population. Furthermore, those drinking more than 21 and 14 drinks per week, respectively, are reached by these campaigns.