Lahti-Koski Marjaana, Harald Kennet, Männistö Satu, Laatikainen Tiina, Jousilahti Pekka
National Public Health Institute, Department of Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention, Helsinki, Finland.
Eur J Cardiovasc Prev Rehabil. 2007 Jun;14(3):398-404. doi: 10.1097/HJR.0b013e32800fef1f.
Obesity is an increasing health problem. Data on long-term obesity trends are most often based on the measurement of body mass index (BMI). Abdominal obesity, assessed by waist circumference may, however, be more closely related to health risks than overall obesity. The aim of this study was to investigate 15-year changes in general and abdominal obesity among adults in Finland, and furthermore, to assess whether obesity trends differ between educational groups.
Four cross-sectional population surveys conducted at 5-year intervals between 1987 and 2002.
Altogether, 9025 men and 9950 women aged 25-64 years participated in these surveys. The weight, height, and waist circumferences of the participants were measured using a standardized protocol.
Mean waist circumference increased by 2.7 cm in men and 4.3 cm in women in 15 years. Whereas the distribution of BMI values did not change much, a remarkable shift towards higher waist circumference values was observed in 15 years. In both sexes, mean and high values of waist circumference increased in all educational groups. However, the values remained highest among the subjects with the lowest education.
These results indicate that adverse changes in body shape have taken place from the late 1980s to the early 2000s. Given that one in five Finnish adults is defined as obese based on BMI, there is an even larger group of individuals at risk of obesity-related metabolic disorders because of abdominal obesity, particularly among low-educated individuals.
肥胖已成为一个日益严重的健康问题。长期肥胖趋势的数据大多基于体重指数（BMI）的测量。然而，通过腰围评估的腹部肥胖可能比整体肥胖与健康风险的关系更为密切。本研究的目的是调查芬兰成年人15年间总体肥胖和腹部肥胖的变化，此外，评估肥胖趋势在不同教育程度人群中是否存在差异。
1987年至2002年期间每隔5年进行一次的四项横断面人群调查。
共有9025名年龄在25至64岁之间的男性和9950名女性参与了这些调查。使用标准化方案测量参与者的体重、身高和腰围。
15年间男性平均腰围增加了2.7厘米，女性增加了4.3厘米。虽然BMI值的分布变化不大，但15年间观察到腰围值显著向更高值偏移。在所有教育程度组中，男性和女性的平均腰围和高腰围值均有所增加。然而，在受教育程度最低的人群中，这些值仍然最高。
这些结果表明，从20世纪80年代末到21世纪初，身体形态发生了不利变化。鉴于根据BMI定义，五分之一的芬兰成年人被视为肥胖，由于腹部肥胖，尤其是在低教育程度人群中，存在更大的一组个体有患肥胖相关代谢紊乱的风险。
