This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Worldwide adult obesity prevalence has doubled since 1980
Finucane M. Lancet. 2011;
doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(10)62037-5.
Danaei G. Lancet. 2011;
doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(10)62036-3.
Farzadfar F. Lancet. 2011;
doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(10)62038-7.
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
Three studies of global health trends recently published in The Lancet suggested the worldwide prevalence of obesity has doubled since 1980, but that average BP and cholesterol levels have decreased in wealthy Western countries.
The three studies were conducted by the Global Burden of Metabolic Risk Factors of Chronic Diseases Collaborating Group. To calculate their totals, the authors culled health data of adults 25 years and older from published and unpublished health examination surveys and epidemiological studies across 199 countries and territories. To define their trends, they compared data from 2008 to data from 1980.
Results from the BMI study indicated that more than one in 10 of the world’s adults was obese in 2008, with women more likely to be obese than men. Obesity was defined as having a BMI above 30 kg/m². Overall, the study estimated that more than half a billion adults worldwide are obese.
The study of systolic blood pressure (SBP) observed a slight decrease in the percentage of the world’s population with uncontrolled hypertension, defined as SBP higher than 140 mm Hg or diastolic blood pressure higher than 90 mm Hg. High-income countries achieved larger reductions in uncontrolled hypertension, with men in North America faring the best by losing 2.8 mm Hg in SBP per decade on average. Increases in SPB in both sexes were observed in Oceania, east Africa, and south and southeast Asia.
The final study reported that the 2008 age-standardized mean cholesterol level worldwide was 4.6 mmol/L for men and 4.76 mmol/L for women. The researchers also found average cholesterol levels decreasing by 0.2 mmol/L per decade in North America, Australia and Europe. Cholesterol increases were observed in east and southeast Asia and the Pacific region (0.8 mmol/L per decade for men and 0.9 mmol/L per decade for women).
"Our results show that overweight and obesity, high BP and high cholesterol are no longer Western problems or problems of wealthy nations. Their presence has shifted towards low- and middle-income countries, making them global problems,” author Majid Ezzati, PhD, Imperial College London, United Kingdom, said in a press release.
"The findings are an opportunity to implement policies that lead to healthier diets, especially lower salt intake, at all levels of economic development, as well as looking at how we improve detection and control through the primary healthcare system.,” Ezzati continued. “Policies and targets for cardiovascular risk factors should get special attention at the High-level Meeting of the United Nations General Assembly on Non-Communicable Diseases in September 2011."
 |
Follow CardiologyToday.com on Twitter. |