Berghöfer Anne, Pischon Tobias, Reinhold Thomas, Apovian Caroline M, Sharma Arya M, Willich Stefan N
Institute for Social Medicine, Epidemiology and Health Economics, Charité University Medical Center, Berlin, Germany.
BMC Public Health. 2008 Jun 5;8:200. doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-8-200.
Obesity has been recognised as an important contributing factor in the development of various diseases, but comparative data on this condition are limited. We therefore aimed to identify and discuss current epidemiological data on the prevalence of obesity in European countries.
We identified relevant published studies by means of a MEDLINE search (1990-2008) supplemented by information obtained from regulatory agencies. We only included surveys that used direct measures of weight and height and were representative of each country's overall population.
In Europe, the prevalence of obesity (body mass index > or = 30 kg/m2) in men ranged from 4.0% to 28.3% and in women from 6.2% to 36.5%. We observed considerable geographic variation, with prevalence rates in Central, Eastern, and Southern Europe being higher than those in Western and Northern Europe.
In Europe, obesity has reached epidemic proportions. The data presented in our review emphasise the need for effective therapeutic and preventive strategies.
肥胖已被公认为是多种疾病发生的一个重要促成因素，但关于这种情况的比较数据有限。因此，我们旨在识别并讨论欧洲国家肥胖患病率的当前流行病学数据。
我们通过医学文献数据库（MEDLINE，1990 - 2008年）检索相关已发表研究，并辅以从监管机构获得的信息。我们仅纳入使用体重和身高直接测量方法且代表每个国家总体人群的调查。
在欧洲，男性肥胖（体重指数≥30 kg/m²）患病率在4.0%至28.3%之间，女性在6.2%至36.5%之间。我们观察到显著的地理差异，中欧、东欧和南欧的患病率高于西欧和北欧。
在欧洲，肥胖已达到流行程度。我们综述中呈现的数据强调了有效治疗和预防策略的必要性。
