Large heterogeneity of the obesity epidemic in Danish adults

Abstract

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.

The Danish National Diabetes Register: trends in incidence, prevalence and mortality

“…This notion is supported by the observed decrease after 2004, which may be taken as an indication that the pool of 'prevalent undiagnosed' cases is diminishing. Studies in the Danish population [9,10] have shown an increase in the incidences of overweight and obesity (although the increases were not dramatic), but have also shown that the increase is smaller in later-born cohorts, so this may be a further contributing factor. Because of the short time span after 2004, and since the break-point is chosen by examination of the data, the estimates for the two trends are those with maximally achievable difference (+5% before and −3% after), so the observed decrease should be viewed with caution.…”

Physical activity, diet and gene–environment interactions in relation to body mass index and waist circumference: The Swedish Young Male Twins Study

“…Due to heterogeneity in susceptibility to weight gain 1,25 and putative modifying effects of genes on the relationship between PA and weight change, 45 minutes of moderate PA may be enough to prevent weight gain in some, whereas 60 minutes might be too little in others.…”

“…Heterogeneity of time trends has been reported in some studies and this may indicate variations in susceptibility to obesity among population subsets 1 .…”

Sociodemographic factors and risk-taking behaviour during adolescence and obesity among more than 40 000 Danes

“…In addition, sex differences in the historical development of obesity epidemics have also been seen. One study found that men had a steadily increasing prevalence of obesity in the 1970s and through up to the 2000s, whereas the prevalence of obesity in women remained stable until the 1990s after which an increase occurred similar to that in men (21) . Another study focusing on the years 1999-2004 showed significant increases in obesity in men but not in women (22) .…”