Comparing trends in BMI and waist circumference

The nature of excess body weight may be changing over time to one of greater central adiposity. The aim of this study is to determine whether BMI and waist circumference (WC) are increasing proportionately among population subgroups and the range of bodyweight, and to examine the public health impli...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Walls, H., Stevenson, C., Mannan, H., Abdullah, A., Reid, Christopher, McNeil, J., Peeters, A.
Format: Journal Article
Published: 2011
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/45676
_version_ 1848757351231782912
author Walls, H.
Stevenson, C.
Mannan, H.
Abdullah, A.
Reid, Christopher
McNeil, J.
Peeters, A.
author_facet Walls, H.
Stevenson, C.
Mannan, H.
Abdullah, A.
Reid, Christopher
McNeil, J.
Peeters, A.
author_sort Walls, H.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description The nature of excess body weight may be changing over time to one of greater central adiposity. The aim of this study is to determine whether BMI and waist circumference (WC) are increasing proportionately among population subgroups and the range of bodyweight, and to examine the public health implications of the findings. Our data are from two cross-sectional surveys (the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Studies (NHANES) in 1988-1994 (NHANES III) and 2005-2006), from which we have used samples of 15,349 and 4,176 participants aged =20 years. Between 1988-1994 and 2005-2006 BMI increased by an average of 1.8kg/m2 and WC by 4.7cm (adjusted for sex, age, race-ethnicity, and education). The increase in WC was more than could be attributed simply to increases in BMI. This independent increase in WC (of on average, 0.9cm) was consistent across the different BMI categories, sexes, education levels, and race-ethnicity groups. It occurred in younger but not older age groups. Overall in each BMI category, the prevalence of low-risk WC decreased and the prevalence of increased-risk or substantially increased-risk WC increased. These results suggest that the adverse health consequences associated with obesity may be increasingly underestimated by trends in BMI alone. Since WC is closely linked to adverse cardiovascular outcomes, it is important to know the prevailing trends in both of these parameters.
first_indexed 2025-11-14T09:26:43Z
format Journal Article
id curtin-20.500.11937-45676
institution Curtin University Malaysia
institution_category Local University
last_indexed 2025-11-14T09:26:43Z
publishDate 2011
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling curtin-20.500.11937-456762017-09-13T14:24:48Z Comparing trends in BMI and waist circumference Walls, H. Stevenson, C. Mannan, H. Abdullah, A. Reid, Christopher McNeil, J. Peeters, A. The nature of excess body weight may be changing over time to one of greater central adiposity. The aim of this study is to determine whether BMI and waist circumference (WC) are increasing proportionately among population subgroups and the range of bodyweight, and to examine the public health implications of the findings. Our data are from two cross-sectional surveys (the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Studies (NHANES) in 1988-1994 (NHANES III) and 2005-2006), from which we have used samples of 15,349 and 4,176 participants aged =20 years. Between 1988-1994 and 2005-2006 BMI increased by an average of 1.8kg/m2 and WC by 4.7cm (adjusted for sex, age, race-ethnicity, and education). The increase in WC was more than could be attributed simply to increases in BMI. This independent increase in WC (of on average, 0.9cm) was consistent across the different BMI categories, sexes, education levels, and race-ethnicity groups. It occurred in younger but not older age groups. Overall in each BMI category, the prevalence of low-risk WC decreased and the prevalence of increased-risk or substantially increased-risk WC increased. These results suggest that the adverse health consequences associated with obesity may be increasingly underestimated by trends in BMI alone. Since WC is closely linked to adverse cardiovascular outcomes, it is important to know the prevailing trends in both of these parameters. 2011 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/45676 10.1038/oby.2010.149 unknown
spellingShingle Walls, H.
Stevenson, C.
Mannan, H.
Abdullah, A.
Reid, Christopher
McNeil, J.
Peeters, A.
Comparing trends in BMI and waist circumference
title Comparing trends in BMI and waist circumference
title_full Comparing trends in BMI and waist circumference
title_fullStr Comparing trends in BMI and waist circumference
title_full_unstemmed Comparing trends in BMI and waist circumference
title_short Comparing trends in BMI and waist circumference
title_sort comparing trends in bmi and waist circumference
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/45676