Prevalence of underweight, overweight, and obesity among reproductive-age women and adolescent girls in rural China

Y. He, A. Pan, Y. Yang, Y. Wang, J. Xu, Y. Zhang, D. Liu, Q. Wang, H. Shen, Y. Zhang, D. Yan, Z. Peng, F.B. Hu and X. Ma
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Yiqing Wang

American Journal of Public Health, 2016, vol. 106, issue 12, 2103-2110

Abstract: Objectives.To provide prevalence and trends of underweight, overweight, and obesity among reproductive-age women and adolescent girls in rural China. Methods. We measured weight and height in 16 742 344 women aged 20 to 49 years and 178 556 girls aged 15 to 19 years from the National Free Preconception Health Examination Project between 2010 and 2014. Results. Among women, the prevalence of underweight was 7.8% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 7.7%, 7.9%), and overweight or obesity was 16.5% (95% CI = 16.4%, 16.6%; World Health Organization criteria). Among adolescents, prevalence of underweight was 6.0% (95% CI = 5.7%, 6.2%; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria) and overweight or obesity was 8.3% (95% CI = 7.9% to 8.8%; International Obesity Task Force criteria). According to Chinese criteria, overweight and obesity prevalence was 24.8% (95% CI = 24.7%, 24.9%) for women and 17.2% (95% CI = 16.6%, 17.8%) for adolescents, and underweight prevalence was 2.9% (95% CI = 2.8%, 3.1%) for adolescents. Considerable disparities existed in prevalence and trends within subpopulations (age groups, parity, region, education levels, and socioeconomic status). Conclusions. Our results reveal coexisting underweight and overweight or obesity among rural women and adolescents of reproductive age, which requires public health attention.

Keywords: adolescent; adult; body mass; body weight; China; female; human; middle aged; obesity; prevalence; rural population; waist to height ratio; young adult, Adolescent; Adult; Body Mass Index; China; Female; Humans; Middle Aged; Obesity; Prevalence; Rural Population; Thinness; Waist-Height Ratio; Young Adult (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:10.2105/ajph.2016.303499_3

DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2016.303499

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