Rising rural body-mass index is the main driver of the global obesity epidemic in adults

Body-mass index (BMI) has increased steadily in most countries in parallel with a rise in the proportion of the population who live in cities(.)(1,2) This has led to a widely reported view that urbanization is one of the most important drivers of the global rise in obesity(3-6). Here we use 2,009 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight in more than 112 million adults, to report national, regional and global trends in mean BMI segregated by place of residence (a rural or urban area) from 1985 to 2017. We show that, contrary to the dominant paradigm, more than 55% of the global rise in mean BMI from 1985 to 2017-and more than 80% in some low- and middle-income regions-was due to increases in BMI in rural areas. This large contribution stems from the fact that, with the exception of women in sub-Saharan Africa, BMI is increasing at the same rate or faster in rural areas than in cities in low- and middle-income regions. These trends have in turn resulted in a closing-and in some countries reversal-of the gap in BMI between urban and rural areas in low- and middle-income countries, especially for women. In high-income and industrialized countries, we noted a persistently higher rural BMI, especially for women. There is an urgent need for an integrated approach to rural nutrition that enhances financial and physical access to healthy foods, to avoid replacing the rural undernutrition disadvantage in poor countries with a more general malnutrition disadvantage that entails excessive consumption of low-quality calories.Peer reviewe

Trends in cardiometabolic risk factors in the Americas between 1980 and 2014: a pooled analysis of population-based surveys

Background: Describing the prevalence and trends of cardiometabolic risk factors that are associated with noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) is crucial for monitoring progress, planning prevention, and providing evidence to support policy efforts. We aimed to analyse the transition in body-mass index (BMI), obesity, blood pressure, raised blood pressure, and diabetes in the Americas, between 1980 and 2014. Methods: We did a pooled analysis of population-based studies with data on anthropometric measurements, biomarkers for diabetes, and blood pressure from adults aged 18 years or older. A Bayesian model was used to estimate trends in BMI, raised blood pressure (systolic blood pressure ≥140 mm Hg or diastolic blood pressure ≥90 mm Hg), and diabetes (fasting plasma glucose ≥7•0 mmol/L, history of diabetes, or diabetes treatment) from 1980 to 2014, in 37 countries and six subregions of the Americas. Findings: 389 population-based surveys from the Americas were available. Comparing prevalence estimates from 2014 with those of 1980, in the non-English speaking Caribbean subregion, the prevalence of obesity increased from 3•9% (95% CI 2•2–6•3) in 1980, to 18•6% (14•3–23•3) in 2014, in men; and from 12•2% (8•2–17•0) in 1980, to 30•5% (25•7–35•5) in 2014, in women. The English-speaking Caribbean subregion had the largest increase in the prevalence of diabetes, from 5•2% (2•1–10•4) in men and 6•4% (2•6–10•4) in women in 1980, to 11•1% (6•4–17•3) in men and 13•6% (8•2–21•0) in women in 2014). Conversely, the prevalence of raised blood pressure has decreased in all subregions; the largest decrease was found in North America from 27•6% (22•3–33•2) in men and 19•9% (15•8–24•4) in women in 1980, to 15•5% (11•1–20•9) in men and 10•7% (7•7–14•5) in women in 2014. Interpretation: Despite the generally high prevalence of cardiometabolic risk factors across the Americas, estimates also showed a high level of heterogeneity in the transition between countries. The increasing prevalence of obesity and diabetes observed over time requires appropriate measures to deal with these public health challenges. Our results support a diversification of health interventions across subregions and countries.Fil: Miranda, J. Jaime. Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia; PerúFil: Carrillo-Larco, Rodrigo M.. Imperial College London; Reino UnidoFil: Ferreccio, Catterina. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; ChileFil: Hambleton, Ian R.. The University Of The West Indies; BarbadosFil: Lotufo, Paulo A.. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Nieto-Martinez, Ramfis. Miami Veterans Affairs Healthcare System; Estados UnidosFil: Zhou, Bin. Imperial College London; Reino UnidoFil: Bentham, James. University Of Kent; Reino UnidoFil: Bixby, Honor. Imperial College London; Reino UnidoFil: Hajifathalian, Kaveh. Cleveland Clinic; Estados UnidosFil: Lu, Yuan. University of Yale; Estados UnidosFil: Taddei, Cristina. Imperial College London; Reino UnidoFil: Abarca-Gomez, Leandra. Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social; Costa RicaFil: Acosta-Cazares, Benjamin. Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social; MéxicoFil: Aguilar-Salinas, Carlos A.. (Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición; MéxicoFil: Andrade, Dolores S.. Universidad de Cuenca; EcuadorFil: Assunção, Maria Cecilia F.. Universidade Federal de Pelotas; BrasilFil: Barcelo, Alberto. Pan American Health Organization; Estados UnidosFil: Barros, Aluisio J.D.. Universidade Federal de Pelotas; BrasilFil: Barros, Mauro V.G.. Universidade de Pernambuco; BrasilFil: Bata, Iqbal. Dalhousie University Halifax; CanadáFil: Batista, Rosangela L.. Universidade Federal Do Maranhao; BrasilFil: Benet, Mikhail. Cafam University Foundation; ColombiaFil: Bernabe-Ortiz, Antonio. Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia; PerúFil: Bettiol, Heloisa. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Boggia, Jose G.. Universidad de la Republica; UruguayFil: Boissonnet, Carlos P.. Centro de Educación Médica e Investigaciones Clínicas; ArgentinaFil: Brewster, Lizzy M.. University of Amsterdam; Países BajosFil: Cameron, Christine. Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle Research Institute; CanadáFil: Cândido, Ana Paula C.. Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora; BrasilFil: Cardoso, Viviane C.. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Chan, Queenie. Imperial College London; Reino UnidoFil: Christofaro, Diego G.. Universidade Estadual Paulista; BrasilFil: Confortin, Susana C.. Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina; BrasilFil: Craig, Cora L.. Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle Research Institute; CanadáFil: d'Orsi, Eleonora. Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina; BrasilFil: Delisle, Hélène. University of Montreal; CanadáFil: De Oliveira, Paula Duarte. Universidade Federal de Pelotas; BrasilFil: Dias-da-Costa, Juvenal Soares. Universidade do Vale do Rio Dos Sinos; BrasilFil: Diaz, Alberto Alejandro. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Escuela Superior de Ciencias de la Salud. Instituto de Investigación en Ciencias de la Salud; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tandil; Argentina. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Municipalidad de Tandil. Hospital Municipal Ramón Santamarina; ArgentinaFil: Donoso, Silvana P.. Universidad de Cuenca; EcuadorFil: Elliott, Paul. Imperial College London; Reino UnidoFil: Escobedo-de La Peña, Jorge. Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social; MéxicoFil: Ferguson, Trevor S.. The University of The West Indies; JamaicaFil: Fernandes, Romulo A.. Universidade Estadual Paulista; BrasilFil: Ferrante, Daniel. Ministerio de Salud; ArgentinaFil: Flores, Eric Monterubio. Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública; MéxicoFil: Francis, Damian K.. The University of The West Indies; JamaicaFil: Do Carmo Franco, Maria. Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Fuchs, Flavio D.. Hospital de Clinicas de Porto Alegre; BrasilFil: Fuchs, Sandra C.. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; BrasilFil: Goltzman, David. Université McGill; CanadáFil: Gonçalves, Helen. Universidade Federal de Pelotas; BrasilFil: Gonzalez-Rivas, Juan P.. The Andes Clinic Of Cardio-Metabolic Studies; VenezuelaFil: Gorbea, Mariano Bonet. Instituto Nacional de Higiene, Epidemiología y Microbiología; CubaFil: Gregor, Ronald D.. Dalhousie University Halifax; CanadáFil: Guerrero, Ramiro. Universidad Icesi; ColombiaFil: Guimaraes, Andre L.. Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros; BrasilFil: Gulliford, Martin C.. King’s College London; Reino UnidoFil: Gutierrez, Laura. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; ArgentinaFil: Hernandez Cadena, Leticia. Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública; MéxicoFil: Herrera, Víctor M.. (Universidad Autónoma de Bucaramanga; ColombiaFil: Hopman, Wilma M.. Kingston General Hospital; CanadáFil: Horimoto, Andrea RVR. Instituto do Coração; BrasilFil: Hormiga, Claudia M.. Fundación Oftalmológica de Santander; ColombiaFil: Horta, Bernardo L.. Universidade Federal de Pelotas; BrasilFil: Howitt, Christina. The University of the West Indies; BarbadosFil: Irazola, Wilma E.. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; ArgentinaFil: Jiménez-Acosta, Santa Magaly. Instituto Nacional de Higiene, Epidemiología y Microbiología; CubaFil: Joffres, Michel. Simon Fraser University; CanadáFil: Kolsteren, Patricia. (Institute of Tropical Medicine; BélgicaFil: Landrove, Orlando. Ministerio de Salud Pública; CubaFil: Li, Yanping. Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health; Estados UnidosFil: Lilly, Christa L.. West Virginia University; Estados UnidosFil: Lima-Costa, M. Fernanda. Fundação Oswaldo Cruz; BrasilFil: Louzada Strufaldi, Maria Wany. Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Machado-Coelho, George L. L.. Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto; BrasilFil: Makdisse, Marcia. Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein; BrasilFil: Margozzini, Paula. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; ChileFil: Pruner Marques, Larissa. Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina; BrasilFil: Martorell, Reynaldo. Emory University; Estados UnidosFil: Mascarenhas, Luis. Universidade Federal do Paraná; BrasilFil: Matijasevich, Alicia. Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Mc Donald Posso, Anselmo J.. Gorgas Memorial Institute of Health Studies; PanamáFil: McFarlane, Shelly R.. The University of the West Indies; JamaicaFil: McLean, Scott B.. (Statistics Canada; CanadáFil: Menezes, Ana Maria B.. Universidade Federal de Pelotas; BrasilFil: Miquel, Juan Francisco. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; ChileFil: Mohanna, Salim. Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia; PerúFil: Monterrubio, Eric A.. Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública; MéxicoFil: Moreira, Leila B.. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; BrasilFil: Morejon, Alain. Universidad de Ciencias Médicas; CubaFil: Motta, Jorge. Gorgas Memorial Institute of Public Health; PanamáFil: Neal, William A.. West Virginia University; Estados UnidosFil: Nervi, Flavio. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; ChileFil: Noboa, Oscar A.. Universidad de la República; UruguayFil: Ochoa-Avilés, Angélica M.. Universidad de Cuenca; EcuadorFil: Olinto, Maria Teresa Anselmo. Universidad de Vale do Rio dos Sinos; BrasilFil: Oliveira, Isabel O.. Universidade Federal de Pelotas; BrasilFil: Ono, Lariane M.. Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina; BrasilFil: Ordunez, Pedro. Pan American Health Organization; Estados UnidosFil: Ortiz, Ana P.. Universidad de Puerto Rico; Puerto RicoFil: Otero, Johanna A.. Fundación Oftalmológica de Santander; ColombiaFil: Palloni, Alberto. University of Wisconsin-Madison; Estados UnidosFil: Viana Peixoto, Sergio. Fundação Oswaldo Cruz; BrasilFil: Pereira, Alexandre C.. Instituto do Coração; BrasilFil: Pérez, Cynthia M.. Universidad de Puerto Rico; Puerto RicoFil: Rangel Reina, Daniel A.. Gorgas Memorial Institute of Health Studies; PanamáFil: Ribeiro, Robespierre. Secretaria de Estado de Saúde de Minas Gerais; BrasilFil: Ritti-Dias, Raphael M.. Universidade Nove de Julho; BrasilFil: Rivera, Juan A.. Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública; MéxicoFil: Robitaille, Cynthia. Public Health Agency of Canada; CanadáFil: Rodríguez-Villamizar, Laura A.. Universidad Industrial de Santander; ColombiaFil: Rojas-Martinez, Rosalba. Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública; MéxicoFil: Roy, Joel G. R.. Statistics Canada; CanadáFil: Rubinstein, Adolfo Luis. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; ArgentinaFil: Ruiz-Betancourt, Blanca Sandra. Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social; MéxicoFil: Salazar Martinez, Eduardo. Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública; MéxicoFil: Sánchez-Abanto, José. Instituto Nacional de Salud; PerúFil: Santos , Ina S.. Universidade Federal de Pelotas; BrasilFil: dos Santos, Renata Nunes. Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Scazufca, Marcia. Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Schargrodsky, Herman. Hospital Italiano; ArgentinaFil: Silva, Antonio M.. Universidade Federal do Maranhao; BrasilFil: Santos Silva, Diego Augusto. Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina; BrasilFil: Stein, Aryeh D.. Emory University; Estados UnidosFil: Suárez-Medina, Ramón. Instituto Nacional de Higiene, Epidemiología y Microbiología; CubaFil: Tarqui-Mamani, Carolina B.. Instituto Nacional de Salud; PerúFil: Tulloch-Reid, Marshall K.. The University of the West Indies; JamaicaFil: Ueda, Peter. Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health; Estados UnidosFil: Ugel, Eunice E.. Universidad Centro-Occidental Lisandro Alvarado; VenezuelaFil: Valdivia, Gonzalo. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; ChileFil: Varona, Patricia. Instituto Nacional de Higiene, Epidemiología y Microbiología; CubaFil: Velasquez-Melendez, Gustavo. Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais; BrasilFil: Verstraeten, Roosmarijn. Institute of Tropical Medicine; BélgicaFil: Victora, Cesar G.. Universidade Federal de Pelotas; BrasilFil: Wanderley Jr, Rildo S.. Universidade Federal de Pernambuco; BrasilFil: Wang, Ming-Dong. Public Health Agency of Canada; CanadáFil: Wilks, Rainford J.. The University of the West Indies; JamaicaFil: Wong-McClure, Roy A.. Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social; Costa RicaFil: Younger-Coleman, Novie O.. The University of the West Indies; JamaicaFil: Zuñiga Cisneros, Julio. Gorgas Memorial Institute of Public Health; PanamáFil: Danaei, Goodarz. Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health; Estados UnidosFil: Stevens, Gretchen A.. World Health Organization; SuizaFil: Riley, Leanne M.. World Health Organization; SuizaFil: Ezzati, Majid. (Imperial College London; Reino UnidoFil: Di Cesare, Mariachiara. Middlesex University; Reino Unid

A century of trends in adult human height

International audienc