Worldwide trends in underweight and obesity from 1990 to 2022: a pooled analysis of 3663 population-representative studies with 222 million children, adolescents, and adults

Background Underweight and obesity are associated with adverse health outcomes throughout the life course. We estimated the individual and combined prevalence of underweight or thinness and obesity, and their changes, from 1990 to 2022 for adults and school-aged children and adolescents in 200 countries and territories. Methods We used data from 3663 population-based studies with 222 million participants that measured height and weight in representative samples of the general population. We used a Bayesian hierarchical model to estimate trends in the prevalence of different BMI categories, separately for adults (age ≥20 years) and school-aged children and adolescents (age 5–19 years), from 1990 to 2022 for 200 countries and territories. For adults, we report the individual and combined prevalence of underweight (BMI <18·5 kg/m2) and obesity (BMI ≥30 kg/m2). For schoolaged children and adolescents, we report thinness (BMI <2 SD below the median of the WHO growth reference) and obesity (BMI >2 SD above the median). Findings From 1990 to 2022, the combined prevalence of underweight and obesity in adults decreased in 11 countries (6%) for women and 17 (9%) for men with a posterior probability of at least 0·80 that the observed changes were true decreases. The combined prevalence increased in 162 countries (81%) for women and 140 countries (70%) for men with a posterior probability of at least 0·80. In 2022, the combined prevalence of underweight and obesity was highest in island nations in the Caribbean and Polynesia and Micronesia, and countries in the Middle East and north Africa. Obesity prevalence was higher than underweight with posterior probability of at least 0·80 in 177 countries (89%) for women and 145 (73%) for men in 2022, whereas the converse was true in 16 countries (8%) for women, and 39 (20%) for men. From 1990 to 2022, the combined prevalence of thinness and obesity decreased among girls in five countries (3%) and among boys in 15 countries (8%) with a posterior probability of at least 0·80, and increased among girls in 140 countries (70%) and boys in 137 countries (69%) with a posterior probability of at least 0·80. The countries with highest combined prevalence of thinness and obesity in school-aged children and adolescents in 2022 were in Polynesia and Micronesia and the Caribbean for both sexes, and Chile and Qatar for boys. Combined prevalence was also high in some countries in south Asia, such as India and Pakistan, where thinness remained prevalent despite having declined. In 2022, obesity in school-aged children and adolescents was more prevalent than thinness with a posterior probability of at least 0·80 among girls in 133 countries (67%) and boys in 125 countries (63%), whereas the converse was true in 35 countries (18%) and 42 countries (21%), respectively. In almost all countries for both adults and school-aged children and adolescents, the increases in double burden were driven by increases in obesity, and decreases in double burden by declining underweight or thinness. Interpretation The combined burden of underweight and obesity has increased in most countries, driven by an increase in obesity, while underweight and thinness remain prevalent in south Asia and parts of Africa. A healthy nutrition transition that enhances access to nutritious foods is needed to address the remaining burden of underweight while curbing and reversing the increase in obesit

Romantic Relationships and Health: A Qualitative and Quantitative Examination of Emerging Adult Couples

Abstract This study examined links between emerging adults' romantic relationships and health. A combination of qualitative and quantitative methods were employed to query 210 participants' (105 couples; mean age = 24.93 years) perceptions of their partners' influence on their health, their relationship quality, and their health behaviors. Results indicated that participants perceived their romantic partners to be primarily positive health influences; health domains believed to be most affected by romantic partners included eating behaviors, physical activity behaviors, substance use, and self-esteem. Perceptions of partners' health influences were associated with participants' relationship experiences and actual health behaviors

Behavior Genetics and the Within-Person Variability of Daily Interpersonal Styles: The Heritability of Flux, Spin and Pulse

A classical twin study was used to estimate the magnitude of genetic and environmental influences on four measurements of within-person variability, namely dominance flux, warmth flux, spin, and pulse. Flux refers to the variability of an individual’s interpersonal dominance and warmth. Spin measures changes in the tone of interpersonal styles, and pulse measures changes in the intensity of interpersonal styles. Daily reports of interpersonal styles were collected from 494 same-sex female twins (142 monozygotic pairs and 105 dizygotic pairs) over 45 days. For dominance flux, warmth flux, and spin, genetic effects accounted for a larger proportion of variance (37%, 24%, and 30%, respectively) than shared environmental effects (14%, 13%, and 0%, respectively), with the remaining variance due to the nonshared environment (62%, 50%, and 70%, respectively). Pulse appeared to be primarily influenced by the nonshared environment, although conclusions about the contribution of familial influences were difficult to draw from this study