Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Regional and urban-rural disparities in prevalence of over-weight among old people in China: Evidence from four Chinese provinces

  • Published:
The journal of nutrition, health & aging

Abstract

Objective

This study is a systematic analysis of regional and local (urban-rural) rates of over-weight among elderly people in China. The primary goal is to update the different trends in over-nutrition by gender and location among elderly Chinese.

Study design and Methods

Data used for this study were obtained from the comprehensive longitudinal data collected in the most recent waves of the China Health and Nutrition Survey in 2000 and 2006. Comparative data on four provinces, two located in the poorer west (Guangxi, Guizhou) and the other two located in the richer east (Jiangsu, Shandong) were selected from the nine provinces of China participating in the survey. The study population included elderly adults aged 60 years or older interviewed during either of the two survey waves. A total of 1996 individuals (998 in 2000 and 998 in 2006) aged 60 years or older made up the sample for the analysis. We compared changes in body mass index (BMI) with changes in the prevalence of over-nutrition across the 6 years.

Results

The mean BMI values observed ranged from 20.8 kg/m2 to 23.2 kg/m2. The prevalence of over-weight ranged from 10.5% to 39.0% in both surveys. There were increases in the prevalence of overweight that were greater than the reduction in the prevalence of underweight among Chinese elderly people. Elderly people in the eastern regions and in urban areas were significantly more likely to be overweight compared with those in western regions and rural areas.

Conclusion

This study found that the rates of overweight in elderly Chinese increased overall between 2000 and 2006. China must act quickly to curb continued increases in overweight and the associated economic costs, with particular focus on target groups.

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

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Popkin BM, Horton S, Kim S, Mahal A, Shuigao J. Trends in diet, nutritional status, and diet-related noncommunicable diseases in China and India: the economic costs of the nutrition transition. Nutr Rev, 2001; 59: 379–390.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Zhai Fengying, Wang Huijun, Du S., et al. The changing trend of dietary pattern of Chinese population: An eight provinces case study in China. Acta Nutritimenta Sinica, 2002; 24(4): 6–10.

    Google Scholar 

  3. Zhai Fengying, Wang Huijun, Du Shufa P, et al. Lifespan nutrition and changing socio-economic conditions in China. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr, 2007;16(Suppl 1):374–382.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Bell AC, Ge K, Popkin BM. Weight gain and its predictors in Chinese adults. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord, 2001; 25: 1079–1086.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Bell AC, Adair LS, Popkin BM. Ethnic differences in the association between body mass index and hypertension. Am J Epidemiol, 2002;155: 346–353.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Chen CM. Eating patterns—a prognosis for China. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr. 1995;4(Supp 1):24–8.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Wu Y. Overweight and obesity in China. BMJ, 2006;333:362–3.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Stookey, Jodi D; Adair, Linda; Stevens, June; Popkin, Barry M. Patterns of long-term change in body composition are associated with diet, activity, income and urban residence among older adults in China. The Journal of Nutrition, 2001;1:2433–2440.

    Google Scholar 

  9. Wang H, Du S, Zhaiand F, Popkin BM. Trends in the distribution of body mass index among Chinese adults, aged 20–45 years (1989–2000). International Journal of Obesity, 2006;30(1):1–7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Monteiro CA, Moura EC, Conde WL, Popkin BM. Socioeconomic status and obesity in adult populations of developing countries: a review. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 2004; 82(12):940–6.

    PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. McLaren L. Socioeconomic status and obesity. Epidemiol Rev, 2007; 29: 29–48.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Yuna He, Fengying Zhai, Guansheng Ma, Edith JM Feskens, Jian Zhang, Ping Fu. et al. Abdominal obesity and the prevalence of diabetes and intermediate hyperglycaemia in Chinese adults. Public Health Nutrition. 2009, 12(8): 1078–1084.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Ball K, Crawford D. Socioeconomic status and weight change in adults: a review. Soc Sci Med, 2005; 60: 1987–2010.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Bhavani Shankar. Obesity in China: the differential impacts of covariates along the BMI distribution. Obesity. 2010; 18:1660–1666.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Stookey J D, Zhai FY, Zohoori1 N. Nutrition of elderly people in China. Asia Pacific J Clin Nutr, 2000; 9(4): 243–251.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. US Bureau of the Census. Global aging: into the 21st century. [wall chart]. Washington DC: US Bureau of the Census, 1996.

    Google Scholar 

  17. Keyfitz N, Fleiger W. World population growth and aging. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1990.

    Google Scholar 

  18. Vaupel JW, Yi Z. Population tradeoffs in China. Policy Sci 1991; 24:389–406.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Chen JD. Some recent policies and programs in nutrition and physical fitness in China. World Rev Nutr Diet 1993; 72: 227–237.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. World Health Organization Expert Committee. Physical status, the use and interpretation of anthropometry WHO Technical Report Series No. 854. Geneva: WHO, 1995.

    Google Scholar 

  21. World Health Organization. Obesity: Preventing and Managing the Global Epidemic. Report of a WHO consultation on obesity. Geneva: WHO, 1998.

    Google Scholar 

  22. Caballero B. The Global Epidemic of Obesity: An Overview. Epidemiologic Reviews, 2007;29:1–5.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Bei-Fan Z. Predictive values of body mass index and waist circumference for risk factors of certain related diseases in Chinese adults: study on optimal cut-off points of body mass index and waist circumference in Chinese adults. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr, 2002; (11) Suppl. 8:S685–S693.

    Google Scholar 

  24. Ashwell M & Hsieh SD Six reasons why the waist-to-height ratio is a rapid and effective global indicator for health risks of obesity and how its use could simplify the international public health message on obesity. Int J Food Sci Nutr, 2005;56:303–307.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Popkin BM, Ge K, Zhai F, Guo X, Haijiang M, Zohoori N. The nutrition transition in China: a cross-sectional analysis. Eur J Clin Nutr, 1993; 47: 333–346.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Ge K, Weisell R, Guo X, Cheng L, Ma H, Zhai F, Popkin BM. The body mass index of Chinese adults in the 1980s. Eur J Clin Nutr, 1994; 48: s148–s154.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Popkin BM. The nutrition transition in low-income countries: an emerging crisis. Nutr Rev 1994; 52: 285–298.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. Side X, Mingtang S, Shuquan Z, Zhaomei M, Yinzhi X, Yujun L, Jun W, Kui J. Anthropometric and dietary survey of elderly Chinese. Br J Nutr, 1991; 66: 355–362.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. Tian HG, Nan Y, Hu G, Dong Q-N, Yang X-L, Pietinen P, Nissinen A. Dietary survey in a Chinese population. Eur J Clin Nutr, 1995;49: 26–32.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Popkin BM, Kim S, Rusev ER, Du S, Zizza C. Measuring the full economic costs of diet, physical activity and obesity-related chronic diseases. Obes Rev, 2006, 7:271–293.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. Popkin BM, Paeratakul S, Ge K, Zhai F. Body weight patterns among the Chinese: results from the 1989 and 1991 China Health and Nutrition Surveys. Am J Public Health. 1995, 85:690–694.

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, School of Humanities and Social Science, Tsinghua University, Beijing, P.R. China, 100084

    P. Kun, Y. Liu, Xiaomei Pei & H. Luo

Authors
  1. P. Kun
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Y. Liu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Xiaomei Pei
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. H. Luo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Xiaomei Pei.

Additional information

Peng Kun and Yu Liu share first authorship.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Kun, P., Liu, Y., Pei, X. et al. Regional and urban-rural disparities in prevalence of over-weight among old people in China: Evidence from four Chinese provinces. J Nutr Health Aging 17, 859–864 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12603-013-0343-x

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12603-013-0343-x

Key words

Search

Navigation