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New dynamics in global obesity facing low‐ and middle‐income countries
Author(s) -
Popkin B. M.,
Slining M. M.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
obesity reviews
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.845
H-Index - 162
eISSN - 1467-789X
pISSN - 1467-7881
DOI - 10.1111/obr.12102
Subject(s) - overweight , waist , percentile , body mass index , latin americans , obesity , demography , middle east , circumference , low and middle income countries , quantile regression , medicine , geography , developing country , economic growth , economics , statistics , political science , endocrinology , geometry , mathematics , archaeology , sociology , law , econometrics
Summary Levels of overweight and obesity across low‐ and middle‐income countries ( LMIC ) have approached levels found in higher‐income countries. This is particularly true in the M iddle E ast and N orth A frica and in L atin A merica and the C aribbean. Using nationally representative samples of women aged 19–49, n = 815,609, this paper documents the annualized rate of increase of overweight from the first survey in early 1990 to the last survey in the present millennium. Overweight increases ranged from 0.31% per year to 0.92% per year for L atin A merica and the C aribbean and for the M iddle E ast and N orth A frica, respectively. For a sample of eight countries, using quantile regression, we further demonstrate that mean body mass index ( BMI ) at the 95th percentile has increased significantly across all regions, representing predicted weight increases of 5–10 kg. Furthermore we highlight a major new concern in LMIC s, documenting waist circumference increases of 2–4 cm at the same BMI (e.g. 25) over an 18‐year period. In sum, this paper indicates growing potential for increased cardiometabolic problems linked with a large rightward shift in the BMI distribution and increased waist circumference at each BMI level.