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Nine-year incidence of obesity and overweight in an African-origin population

International Journal of Obesity volume 32, pages 329–335 (2008)Cite this article

Abstract

Objective:

To provide 9-year incidence estimates for obesity and overweight and describe weight changes over time in an African-origin population.

Design:

A population-based cohort in which participants were examined at baseline and reexamined after 9 years.

Measurements:

Obesity and overweight were defined as having body mass indices (BMIs)⩾30 and 25 kg m−2, respectively. Incidence rates were based on persons without such conditions at baseline and are presented along with 95% confidence intervals.

Results:

Of the 869 men and 921 women at risk at baseline, the 9-year gender-specific incidence rates for obesity were 6.9% (95% confidence interval (5.3, 8.8)) and 13.1% (11.0, 15.5), respectively. The incidence of obesity steadily declined with age, decreasing from 14.4% for those between 40 and 49 years of age to 1.5% for those who were 70 years and older. Overall, the incidence of obesity over 9 years was ∼10%. The 9-year incidence rate for overweight was 23.3% (20.5, 26.3). Changes in weight over the 9-year period varied by age group. Persons 40–49 years of age at baseline gained, on average, almost 3% of their baseline body weight, whereas persons ⩾70 years lost 5% of their body weight in 9 years.

Conclusions:

This study highlights the high incidence of obesity/overweight in this cohort and suggests that the future public health burden of excess weight and its associated comorbidities may be elevated in this population of African origin. The development of strategies and interventions for the prevention and treatment of obesity/overweight are therefore of primary and immediate importance.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the Barbados Eye Studies participants and the Ministry of Health, Barbados, West Indies, for their role in the study. This study was supported by grants EYO7625 and EYO7617 from the National Eye Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Preventive Medicine, Stony Brook University School of Medicine, Stony Brook, NY, USA

    B Nemesure, S-Y Wu, A Hennis & M C Leske

  2. Ministry of Health, Barbados, West Indies

    A Hennis

  3. Chronic Disease Research Centre, Tropical Medicine Research Institute, University of the West Indies, Barbados, West Indies

    A Hennis

Authors
  1. B Nemesure
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  2. S-Y Wu
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  3. A Hennis
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  4. M C Leske
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Consortia

for the BES Group

Corresponding author

Correspondence to B Nemesure.

Additional information

Wilmer Institute, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA

Appendix

Appendix

The Barbados Eye Studies Group

Principal Investigator: M Cristina Leske, MD, MPH.

Coordinating Center

Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA: M C Leske, MD, MPH; Barbara Nemesure, PhD; Suh-Yuh Wu, MA; Leslie Hyman, PhD; Xiaowei Li, PhD; Lixin Jiang, MS; Ling Yang, MS; Kasthuri Sarma; Karen Kelleher and Melinda Santoro.

Data Collection Center

Ministry of Health, Bridgetown, Barbados, West Indies: Anthea M S Connell, FRCS, FRCOphth (dec); Anselm Hennis, PhD, FRCP, FACP; Ann Bannister, MBBS, MRCOphth; Muthu A Thangaraj, MB, BS, DO; Coreen Barrow; Patricia Basdeo; Kim Bayley and Anthanette Holder.

Fundus Photography Reading Center

The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA: Andrew P Schachat, MD; Judith A Alexander; Cheryl J Hiner, Noreen B Javornik, MS; Deborah A Phillips; Reva W Strozykowski and Terry W George.

Advisory Committee

Trevor Hassell, FRCP, FACC, GCM (Department of Cardiology); Henry Fraser, FACP, FRCP, PhD, GCM (Chronic Diseases Research Centre); Clive Gibbons, FRCS, FRCP, FRCOphth (Department of Ophthalmology); School of Clinical Medicine and Research, University of the West Indies; Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Barbados, West Indies.

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Nemesure, B., Wu, SY., Hennis, A. et al. Nine-year incidence of obesity and overweight in an African-origin population. Int J Obes 32, 329–335 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0803721

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