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. 2018 Dec;7(4):276-288.
doi: 10.1007/s13679-018-0317-8.

Epidemiology of Obesity in Adults: Latest Trends

Yosuke Inoue  1 , Bo Qin  2 , Jennifer Poti  3 , Rebeccah Sokol  4 , Penny Gordon-Larsen  5   6
Affiliations

Epidemiology of Obesity in Adults: Latest Trends

Yosuke Inoue et al. Curr Obes Rep. 2018 Dec.

Abstract

Purpose of review: An increasing trend in obesity prevalence since the early 1980s has posed a significant population health burden across the globe. We conducted a systematic review for studies using measured anthropometry to examine trends in obesity in the USA published from 2012 to 2018 and for systematic reviews to document trends in obesity across the globe published from 2014 to 2018.

Recent findings: For the USA, the only nationally representative data source capturing trends in obesity in this period was the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which uses repeated cross-sectional data to document national trends in obesity in the USA. For global trends, the only systematic reviews of obesity across the globe were the Global Burden of Disease Obesity study and the Non-communicable Disease Risk Factor Collaboration study. In general, the population distribution of body mass index (BMI) in the USA has shifted towards the upper end of its distribution over the past three decades. The global distribution has similarly increased, albeit with large regional differences. US and global studies suggest an increasing trend in obesity since the 1980s, and there is a dearth of nationally representative longitudinal studies using measured anthropometry to capture trends in adult obesity in the USA for the same individuals over time. Greater efforts are needed to identify factors contributing to the continued increases in obesity.

Keywords: Body mass index; Obesity; Population health; Prevalence.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest

Yosuke Inoue declares that he has no conflict of interest.

Bo Qin declares that she has no conflict of interest.

Jennifer Poti declares that she has no conflict of interest.

Rebeccah Sokol declares that she has no conflict of interest.

Penny Gordon-Larsen is supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
PRISMA diagram for US studies that used nationally representative adult samples with measured anthropometry, published between Jan 2012 and July 2018.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
PRISMA diagram for global studies that were systematic review published between Jan 2014 and July 2018.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Trends in US adult obesity prevalence based on data from the National Health and Nutrition Survey (NHANES), and US data included in the Global Burden of Disease (GBD), the NCD Risk Factor Collaborations (NCD-RisC).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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