Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Epidemiology of Obesity

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
From Obesity to Diabetes

Part of the book series: Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology ((HEP,volume 274))

Abstract

Obesity is in theory defined on the basis of the excess health risk caused by adiposity exceeding the size normally found in the population, but for practical reasons, the World Health Organization (WHO) has defined obesity as a body mass index (weight (kg)/height (m)2) of 30 or above for adults. WHO considers the steep increases in prevalence of obesity in all age groups, especially since the 1970s as a global obesity epidemic. Today, approximately 650 million adult people and approximately 340 million children and adolescence (5–19 years) suffer from obesity. It is generally more prevalent among women and older age groups than among men and younger age groups. Beyond the necessity of availability of food, evidence about causes of obesity is still very limited. However, studies have shown that obesity ‘runs in families’, where both genetics and environmental, and especially social, factors play important roles. Obesity is associated with an increased risk of many adverse medical, mental and social consequences, including a strong relation to type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes and related metabolic syndrome and diseases are major contributors to the excess morbidity and mortality associated with obesity.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Aarestrup J, Bjerregaard LG, Gamborg M, Ängquist L, Tjønneland A, Overvad K et al (2016) Tracking of body mass index from 7 to 69 years of age. Int J Obes 40(9):1376–1383

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ajslev TA, Ängquist L, Silventoinen K, Baker JL, Sørensen TIA (2014) Trends in parent-child correlations of childhood body mass index during the development of the obesity epidemic. PLoS One 9(10):e109932

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Ajslev TA, Ängquist L, Silventoinen K, Baker JL, Sørensen TIA (2015) Stable intergenerational associations of childhood overweight during the development of the obesity epidemic. Obesity (Silver Spring) 23(6):1279–1287

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Albers L, Sobotzki C, Kuß O, Ajslev T, Batista RF, Bettiol H et al (2018) Maternal smoking during pregnancy and offspring overweight: Is there a dose-response relationship? An individual patient data meta-analysis. Int J Obes 42(7):1249–1264

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aune D, Sen A, Prasad M, Norat T, Janszky I, Tonstad S et al (2016) BMI and all cause mortality: systematic review and non-linear dose-response meta-analysis of 230 cohort studies with 3.74 million deaths among 30.3 million participants. BMJ 353:i2156

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Bhaskaran K, Dos-Santos-Silva I, Leon DA, Douglas IJ, Smeeth L (2018) Association of BMI with overall and cause-specific mortality: a population-based cohort study of 3·6 million adults in the UK. Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol 6(12):944–953

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Bjerregaard LG, Jensen BW, Ängquist L, Osler M, Sørensen TIA, Baker JL (2018) Change in overweight from childhood to early adulthood and risk of type 2 diabetes. N Engl J Med 378(14):1302–1312

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bjerregaard LG, Wasenius N, Nedelec R, Gjærde LK, Ängquist L, Herzig KH et al (2020) Possible modifiers of the association between change in weight status from child through adult ages and later risk of type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care 43(5):1000–1007

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Black E, Holst C, Astrup A, Toubro S, Echwald S, Pedersen O et al (2005) Long-term influences of body-weight changes, independent of the attained weight, on risk of impaired glucose tolerance and type 2 diabetes. Diabet Med 22(9):1199–1205

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bray GB, Bouchard C (2014) Handbook of obesity, two-volume set, 4th edn. Routledge, London

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2021) Adult obesity prevalence maps USA. https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/prevalence-maps.html

  • Christakoudi S, Tsilidis KK, Muller DC, Freisling H, Weiderpass E, Overvad K et al (2020) A Body Shape Index (ABSI) achieves better mortality risk stratification than alternative indices of abdominal obesity: results from a large European cohort. Sci Rep 10(1):14541

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Cope MB, Allison DB (2008) Critical review of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) 2007 report on ‘evidence of the long-term effects of breastfeeding: systematic reviews and meta-analysis’ with respect to obesity. Obes Rev 9(6):594–605

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Després JP, Lemieux I, Bergeron J, Pibarot P, Mathieu P, Larose E et al (2008) Abdominal obesity and the metabolic syndrome: contribution to global cardiometabolic risk. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol 28(6):1039–1049

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Elks CE, den Hoed M, Zhao JH, Sharp SJ, Wareham NJ, Loos RJ et al (2012) Variability in the heritability of body mass index: a systematic review and meta-regression. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne) 3:29

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • El-Sayed AM, Scarborough P, Galea S (2012a) Socioeconomic inequalities in childhood obesity in the United Kingdom: a systematic review of the literature. Obes Facts 5(5):671–692

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • El-Sayed AM, Scarborough P, Galea S (2012b) Unevenly distributed: a systematic review of the health literature about socioeconomic inequalities in adult obesity in the United Kingdom. BMC Public Health 12:18

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Fontaine KR, Robertson HT, Holst C, Desmond R, Stunkard AJ, Sørensen TIA et al (2011) Is socioeconomic status of the rearing environment causally related to obesity in the offspring? PLoS One 6(11):e27692

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Global B. M. I. Mortality Collaboration, Di Angelantonio E, Bhupathiraju Sh N, Wormser D, Gao P, Kaptoge S et al (2016) Body-mass index and all-cause mortality: individual-participant-data meta-analysis of 239 prospective studies in four continents. Lancet 388(10046):776–786

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Goldblatt PB, Moore ME, Stunkard AJ (1965) Social factors in obesity. JAMA 192:1039–1044

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hillier-Brown FC, Bambra CL, Cairns JM, Kasim A, Moore HJ, Summerbell CD (2014) A systematic review of the effectiveness of individual, community and societal-level interventions at reducing socio-economic inequalities in obesity among adults. Int J Obes 38(12):1483–1490

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hoebel J, Kuntz B, Kroll LE, Schienkiewitz A, Finger JD, Lange C et al (2019) Socioeconomic inequalities in the rise of adult obesity: a time-trend analysis of national examination data from Germany, 1990-2011. Obes Facts 12(3):344–356

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Hu F (2008) Obesity epidemiology. Oxford University Press

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Huang T, Wang T, Zheng Y, Ellervik C, Li X, Gao M et al (2019) Association of birth weight with type 2 diabetes and glycemic traits: a mendelian randomization study. JAMA Netw Open 2(9):e1910915

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Hudda MT, Aarestrup J, Owen CG, Cook DG, Sørensen TIA, Rudnicka AR et al (2021) Association of childhood fat mass and weight with adult-onset type 2 diabetes in Denmark. JAMA Netw Open 4(4):e218524

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Joubert BR, Felix JF, Yousefi P, Bakulski KM, Just AC, Breton C et al (2016) DNA methylation in newborns and maternal smoking in pregnancy: genome-wide consortium meta-analysis. Am J Hum Genet 98(4):680–696

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Locke AE, Kahali B, Berndt SI, Justice AE, Pers TH, Day FR et al (2015) Genetic studies of body mass index yield new insights for obesity biology. Nature 518(7538):197–206

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Loos RJF, Yeo GSH (2022) The genetics of obesity: from discovery to biology. Nat Rev Genet 23:120–133

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ludwig DS, Aronne LJ, Astrup A, de Cabo R, Cantley LC, Friedman MI et al (2021) The carbohydrate-insulin model: a physiological perspective on the obesity pandemic. Am J Clin Nutr 114(6):1873–1885

    Article  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • McAllister EJ, Dhurandhar NV, Keith SW, Aronne LJ, Barger J, Baskin M et al (2009) Ten putative contributors to the obesity epidemic. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr 49(1):868–913

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Møller SE, Ajslev TA, Andersen CS, Dalgård C, Sørensen TIA (2014) Risk of childhood overweight after exposure to tobacco smoking in prenatal and early postnatal life. PLoS One 9(10):e109184

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Moore CJ, Cunningham SA (2012) Social position, psychological stress, and obesity: a systematic review. J Acad Nutr Diet 112(4):518–526

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Morgen CS, Andersen PK, Mortensen LH, Howe LD, Rasmussen M, Due P et al (2017) Socioeconomic disparities in birth weight and body mass index during infancy through age 7 years: a study within the Danish National Birth Cohort. BMJ Open 7(1):e011781

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Morgen CS, Ängquist L, Baker JL, Andersen AMN, Michaelsen KF, Sørensen TIA (2018) Prenatal risk factors influencing childhood BMI and overweight independent of birth weight and infancy BMI: a path analysis within the Danish National Birth Cohort. Int J Obes 42(4):594–602

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (NCD-RisC) (2017) Worldwide trends in body-mass index, underweight, overweight, and obesity from 1975 to 2016: a pooled analysis of 2416 population-based measurement studies in 128·9 million children, adolescents, and adults. Lancet 390(10113):2627–2642

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (NCD-RisC) (2019) Rising rural body-mass index is the main driver of the global obesity epidemic in adults. Nature 569(7755):260–264

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (NCD-RisC) (2021) Heterogeneous contributions of change in population distribution of body mass index to change in obesity and underweight. elife 10:e60060

    Article  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Olds TS (2009) One million skinfolds: secular trends in the fatness of young people 1951-2004. Eur J Clin Nutr 63(8):934–946

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Olds TS, Harten NR (2001) One hundred years of growth: the evolution of height, mass, and body composition in Australian children, 1899-1999. Hum Biol 73(5):727–738

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Olsen LW, Baker JL, Holst C, Sørensen TIA (2006) Birth cohort effect on the obesity epidemic in Denmark. Epidemiology 17(3):292–295

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Parsons TJ, Power C, Logan S, Summerbell CD (1999) Childhood predictors of adult obesity: a systematic review. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 23(Suppl 8):S1–S107

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Patro Golab B, Santos S, Voerman E, Lawlor DA, Jaddoe VWV, Gaillard R (2018) Influence of maternal obesity on the association between common pregnancy complications and risk of childhood obesity: an individual participant data meta-analysis. Lancet Child Adolesc Health 2(11):812–821

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Philips EM, Santos S, Trasande L, Aurrekoetxea JJ, Barros H, von Berg A et al (2020) Changes in parental smoking during pregnancy and risks of adverse birth outcomes and childhood overweight in Europe and North America: an individual participant data meta-analysis of 229,000 singleton births. PLoS Med 17(8):e1003182

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Rokholm B, Baker JL, Sørensen TIA (2010) The levelling off of the obesity epidemic since the year 1999 - a review of evidence and perspectives. Obes Rev 11(12):835–846

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rokholm B, Silventoinen K, Tynelius P, Gamborg M, Sørensen TIA, Rasmussen F (2011) Increasing genetic variance of body mass index during the Swedish obesity epidemic. PLoS One 6(11):e27135

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Rokholm B, Silventoinen K, Tynelius P, Sørensen TIA, Rasmussen F (2013) Modifiable environmental influences on body mass index shared by young adult brothers. Int J Obes 37(2):211–215

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rolland-Cachera MF, Akrout M, Péneau S (2016) Nutrient intakes in early life and risk of obesity. Int J Environ Res Public Health 13(6):564

    Article  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Rugholm S, Baker JL, Olsen LW, Schack-Nielsen L, Bua J, Sørensen TIA (2005) Stability of the association between birth weight and childhood overweight during the development of the obesity epidemic. Obes Res 13(12):2187–2194

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Shrewsbury V, Wardle J (2008) Socioeconomic status and adiposity in childhood: a systematic review of cross-sectional studies 1990-2005. Obesity (Silver Spring) 16(2):275–284

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Silventoinen K, Kaprio J (2009) Genetics of tracking of body mass index from birth to late middle age: evidence from twin and family studies. Obes Facts 2(3):196–202

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Silventoinen K, Rokholm B, Kaprio J, Sørensen TIA (2010) The genetic and environmental influences on childhood obesity: a systematic review of twin and adoption studies. Int J Obes 34(1):29–40

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Silventoinen K, Jelenkovic A, Sund R, Hur YM, Yokoyama Y, Honda C et al (2016) Genetic and environmental effects on body mass index from infancy to the onset of adulthood: an individual-based pooled analysis of 45 twin cohorts participating in the COllaborative project of Development of Anthropometrical measures in Twins (CODATwins) study. Am J Clin Nutr 104(2):371–379

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Silventoinen K, Jelenkovic A, Sund R, Yokoyama Y, Hur Y-M, Cozen W et al (2017) Differences in genetic and environmental variation in adult BMI by sex, age, time period, and region: an individual-based pooled analysis of 40 twin cohorts. Am J Clin Nutr 106(2):457–466

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Silventoinen K, Jelenkovic A, Latvala A, Yokoyama Y, Sund R, Sugawara M et al (2019) Parental education and genetics of BMI from infancy to old age: a pooled analysis of 29 twin cohorts. Obesity (Silver Spring) 27(5):855–865

    Google Scholar 

  • Sobreira DR, Joslin AC, Zhang Q, Williamson I, Hansen GT, Farris KM et al (2021) Extensive pleiotropism and allelic heterogeneity mediate metabolic effects of IRX3 and IRX5. Science 372(6546):1085–1091

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Sonne-Holm S, Sørensen TIA (1977) Post-war course of the prevalence of extreme overweight among Danish young men. J Chronic Dis 30(6):351–358

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sørensen TIA (2009) Challenges in the study of causation of obesity. Proc Nutr Soc 68(1):43–54

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sørensen TIA (2014) Challenges in understanding development of obesity. In: Nóbrega C, Rodriguez-López R (eds) Molecular mechanisms underpinning the development of obesity. Switzerland Springer International Publishing, pp 1–7

    Google Scholar 

  • Sørensen TIA, Rokholm B, Ajslev TA (2012) The history of the obesity epidemic in Denmark. In: Insecurity, inequality, and obesity in affluent societies. The British Academy, Oxford, pp 161–178

    Google Scholar 

  • Speakman JR, Hall KD (2021) Carbohydrates, insulin, and obesity. Science 372(6542):577–578

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sun YQ, Burgess S, Staley JR, Wood AM, Bell S, Kaptoge SK et al (2019) Body mass index and all cause mortality in HUNT and UK Biobank studies: linear and non-linear mendelian randomisation analyses. BMJ 364:l1042

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Teasdale T, Sørensen TIA, Stunkard A (1990) Genetic and early environmental components in sociodemographic influences on adult body fatness. BMJ 300(6740):1615–1618

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • UK Government's Foresight Programme (2007) Tackling obesities: future choices - project report, 2nd edn. publishing.service.gov.uk

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang Y, Beydoun MA (2007) The obesity epidemic in the United States--gender, age, socioeconomic, racial/ethnic, and geographic characteristics: a systematic review and meta-regression analysis. Epidemiol Rev 29:6–28

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Warrington NM, Beaumont RN, Horikoshi M, Day FR, Helgeland Ø, Laurin C et al (2019) Maternal and fetal genetic effects on birth weight and their relevance to cardio-metabolic risk factors. Nat Genet 51(5):804–814

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • World Health Organization (WHO) (2021) Obesity and overweight 2021. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/obesity-and-overweight

  • Zimmermann E, Holst C, Sørensen TIA (2011) Morbidity, including fatal morbidity, throughout life in men entering adult life as obese. PLoS One 6(4):e18546

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Zimmermann E, Bjerregaard LG, Gamborg M, Vaag AA, Sørensen TIA, Baker JL (2017) Childhood body mass index and development of type 2 diabetes throughout adult life - a large-scale danish cohort study. Obesity (Silver Spring) 25(5):965–971

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Section of Epidemiology, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Thorkild I. A. Sørensen

  2. Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Thorkild I. A. Sørensen

  3. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Imperial College, London, UK

    Andrea Rodriguez Martinez

  4. BenevolentAI, London, UK

    Andrea Rodriguez Martinez

  5. Section of Social Medicine, Department of Public Health, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Terese Sara Høj Jørgensen

Authors
  1. Thorkild I. A. Sørensen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Andrea Rodriguez Martinez
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Terese Sara Høj Jørgensen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Thorkild I. A. Sørensen .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Clinical Diabetology, German Diabetes Center, Düsseldorf, Germany

    Juergen Eckel

  2. NutriOmique Research group, Nutrition Department, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, APHP, Sorbonne Université/INSERM, Paris, France

    Karine Clément

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Sørensen, T.I.A., Martinez, A.R., Jørgensen, T.S.H. (2022). Epidemiology of Obesity. In: Eckel, J., Clément, K. (eds) From Obesity to Diabetes. Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology, vol 274. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/164_2022_581

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation