Objective: To describe the prevalence of overweight, obesity, and central obesity among adult residents aged 18 years and above in 10 provinces(autonomous regions) of China in 2023, and to analyze the trends in 2000-2023.
Methods: Adults aged 18 and over with complete height, weight and waist circumference measurements who participated in the 2000-2018 China Health and Nutrition Survey and the 2022-2023 China Development and Nutrition Health Impact Cohort Survey from the same 10 provinces(autonomous regions) were selected as the study subjects. Overweight, obesity, pre-central obesity, and central obesity were defined according to the Chinese Adult Weight criteria(WS/T 428-2013).
Results: The average BMI(kg/m~2) of adult men and women in 10 provinces(autonomous regions) in 2023 was 24.8 and 24.6, respectively. Urban men(25.2) was higher than rural men(24.7), while urban women(24.3) was lower than rural women(24.7). The waist circumference of adult men and women was 89.0 cm and 83.9 cm, respectively. The waist circumference of urban men(90.7 cm) was higher than rural men(88.3 cm), and urban women(83.1 cm) was lower than rural women(84.3 cm). In 2023, the overweight rate, obesity rate, pre-central obesity prevalence rate and central obesity rate of adults in 10 provinces were 38.5%, 17.1%, 19.5% and 46.9%. Compared with 2000, they increased by 12.8%, 10.2%, 4.7% and 23.7%. Among them, the obesity rate had increased the fastest, increasing by 1.5 times, and the obesity rate of adults aged 18-44 had increased by nearly three times. The urban-rural gaps between overweight, obesity and central obesity were narrowing.
Conclusion: The overweight, obesity, and central obesity rates of adults in 10 provinces(autonomous regions) of China are still on the rise, and the BMI and waist circumference of urban men and rural women are increasing more rapidly.
Keywords: adult; body mass index; central obesity; obesity; overweight; waist circumference.