Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
J Urban Health. 2012 Dec;89(6):952-64. doi: 10.1007/s11524-012-9708-4.
Despite stereotypes of the homeless population as underweight, the literature lacks a rigorous analysis of weight status in homeless adults. The purpose of this study is to present the body mass index (BMI) distribution in a large adult homeless population and to compare this distribution to the non-homeless population in the United States. Demographic, BMI, and socioeconomic variables from patients seen in 2007-2008 were collected from the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program (BHCHP). This population was compared to non-homeless adults from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Among 5,632 homeless adults, the mean BMI was 28.4 kg/m(2) and the prevalence of obesity was 32.3 %. Only 1.6 % of homeless adults were underweight. Compared to mean BMI in NHANES (28.6 kg/m(2)), the difference was not significant in unadjusted analysis (p = 0.14). Adjusted analyses predicting BMI or likelihood of obesity also showed that the homeless had a weight distribution not statistically different from the general population. Although underweight has been traditionally associated with homelessness, this study suggests that obesity may be the new malnutrition of the homeless in the United States.
尽管人们对无家可归者的刻板印象是体重过轻，但文献中缺乏对成年无家可归者体重状况的严格分析。本研究旨在介绍大量成年无家可归者的体重指数（BMI）分布情况，并将其与美国非无家可归者人口进行比较。从 2007-2008 年在波士顿无家可归者医疗保健计划（BHCHP）就诊的患者中收集了人口统计学、BMI 和社会经济变量。将该人群与国家健康和营养检查调查（NHANES）中的非无家可归成年人进行比较。在 5632 名无家可归的成年人中，平均 BMI 为 28.4kg/m(2)，肥胖的患病率为 32.3%。只有 1.6%的无家可归者体重过轻。与 NHANES 的平均 BMI（28.6kg/m(2)）相比，未调整分析的差异无统计学意义（p=0.14）。预测 BMI 或肥胖可能性的调整分析也表明，无家可归者的体重分布与一般人群无统计学差异。尽管体重过轻一直与无家可归有关，但这项研究表明，肥胖可能是美国无家可归者的新营养不良问题。
