Background and objective: Over the past three decades, the prevalence of overweight and obesity in China has increased greatly. Chinese body mass index (BMI) dynamics have shown much greater rates of changes among men, aged 18-45 years, than among women. This study examined the gender difference in the BMI trends and related factors.
Methods and study design: We used longitudinal data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey collected in 1997, 2000, 2004, 2006, 2009 and 2011. A total of 10,982 participants (N=5339 men and 5643 women) aged 18-45 years were included in the final analysis. Lambda mu sigma method (LMS) was used to describe changes of BMI distribution. Separate sex-stratified multilevel random intercept-slope growth models were applied to examine effects of individual and community variables on BMI trends of Chinese adults.
Results: Male BMI increased by 0.21 kg/m2 overtime, which was larger than female BMI at 0.16 kg/m2. Higher income, drinking and away-from-home food consumption were associated with higher BMI, and these variables were only significant among men. Physical activity (PA) had a negative association for both genders.
Conclusions: Since different variables resulted in gender disparity in BMI trends among Chinese adults, separate health policies should be developed for men and for women.
背景与目的：过去三十年间，中国成人的超重肥胖率大幅增加。有研究表 明，18-45 岁中国人体质指数呈现逐年增加趋势，特别是男性。本研究主要探 讨该年龄组人群体质指数变化的男女性别差异及影响因素。方法与研究设 计：利用“中国居民健康与营养调查”的纵向数据，提取1997、2000、 2004、2006、2009 和2011 年调查中18-45 岁健康成年居民作为研究对象。样 本共计10892 人，其中男性5339 人，女性5643 人。应用偏度系数-中位数-变 异系数法来拟合体质指数的分布曲线。应用多水平随机截距发展模型从个体和 社区水平来研究男性和女性体质指数变化的影响因素。结果：中国成年人体 质指数随时间变化呈上升趋势，男性每年增加0.21 kg/m2，女性每年增加0.16 kg/m2。较高的收入、饮酒和在外就餐都会导致体质指数的增加，但这些因素 仅在男性有统计学意义。无论男女，增加身体活动都会降低体质指数。结 论：鉴于影响中国成年男性和女性体质指数增加的原因不同，应该针对不同 性别，采取不同的干预措施。.