Increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity among Spanish adults, 1987-1997

OBJECTIVE: To study the trend in the prevalence of obesity and overweight i n Spanish men and women 25-64 y of age between 1987 and 1997. DESIGN: Cross-sectional surveys of representative samples of the non-instit utionalized population in Spain in 1987, 1995 and 1997. SUBJECTS: 14,676 and 7004 adults aged 25-64 who were representative of the Spanish population in 1987 and 1995/1997. MEASURES: Body mass index (BMI) calculated from self-reported weight and he ight. Overweight is defined as BMI = 27 - 29.9 kg/m(2) and obesity as BMI g reater than or equal to 30 kg/m(2). RESULTS: Between 1987 and 1995/97, the prevalence of overweight in the Span ish population aged 25-64 increased by 2.2% (P < 0.01); the increase was gr eater in men (3.8%; P < 0.01) than in women (0.6%; P > 0.05). The largest i ncreases in the prevalence of overweight were seen in men (5.2%; P < 0.01) and women (2.3%; P < 0.05) aged 25 - 34. During the same period, the preval ence of obesity increased by 3.9% (P < 0.01), 4.6% in men (P < 0.01) and 3. 2% in women (P < 0.01). The largest increases were seen in men aged 45-54 ( 6.5%, P < 0.01) and in women aged 25-34 (2.2%. P < 0.05), By educational le vel, the prevalence of overweight increased significantly in men with fewer than 12 y of education (4.7%, P < 0.01). Obesity increased by 4.6% (P < 0. 01) and by 4.9% (Pe 0.01) in men and women with fewer than 12 y of educatio n, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of overweight and obesity is increasing in Spai n, the same as it is in other developed countries. The increase, which is f ound in most age and sex groups in the population, especially affects middl e-aged men, young women and persons with lower educational level. The cause s of the increase in the prevalence of overweight and obesity are likely to be multifactorial.