Regional and Social Differences in Body Mass Index, and the Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity Among 18 Year Old Men in Austria Between the Years 1985 and 2000

The BMI data of four birth cohorts of totally 180,716 male 18 year old Austrian conscripts were documented in 5 year intervals starting 1985 and ending 2000 in order to analyze regional and social variety and a time trend of stature, body weight and BMI as well as the prevalence rates of overweight (defined as a BMI > 25.00) and obesity (BMI > 30.00). At first a marked time trend in BMI and overweight /obesity prevalence rates was found. Over the 15 years of investigation BMI increased significantly and the variation of BMI distribution increased too. The impact of educational level on BMI and the prevalence of overweight and obesity was also statistically significant. With increasing educational level BMI and the prevalence rates of overweight and obesity decreased significantly. Furthermore a significant regional variety in BMI and the prevalence rates of overweight and obesity were found. BMI and the prevalence rates of obesity and overweight decreased significantly from the Eastern part of Austria to the Western part. Both observations, e.g. the social and regional variety of obesity and overweight prevalence, were true of all 4 birth cohorts. From these results we can conclude that obesity and overweight represent an increasing health problem among young Austrian males. This is especially true of young men of low social status living in the eastern part of Austria

Hand grip strength and cognitive function among elderly cancer survivors

Background: We evaluated the associations of handgrip strength and cognitive function in cancer survivors ≥ 60 years old using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Methods: Data in two waves of NHANES (2011-2014) were aggregated. Handgrip strength in kilogram (kg) was defined as the maximum value achieved using either hand. Two cognitive function tests were conducted among adults 60 years and older. The Animal Fluency Test (AFT) examines categorical verbal fluency (a component of executive function), and the Digital Symbol Substitution test (DSST) assesses processing speed, sustained attention, and working memory. Survey analysis procedures were used to account for the complex sampling design of the NHANES. Multiple linear regression models were used to estimate associations of handgrip strength with cognitive test scores, adjusting for confounders (age, gender, race/ethnicity, education, marital status, smoking status, depressive symptoms and leisure time physical activity). Results: Among 383 cancer survivors (58.5% women, mean age=70.9 years, mean BMI=29.3 kg/m2), prevalent cancer types were breast (22.9%), prostate (16.4%), colon (6.9%) and cervix (6.2%). In women, each increase in kg of handgrip strength was associated with 0.20 (95% CI: 0.08 to 0.33) higher score on AFT and 0.83 (95% CI: 0.30 to 1.35) higher score on DSST. In men, we observed an inverted U-shape association where cognitive function peaked at handgrip strength of 40-42 kg. Conclusions: Handgrip strength, a modifiable factor, appears to be associated with aspects of cognitive functions in cancer survivors. Prospective studies are needed to address their causal relationship

Heterogeneous contributions of change in population distribution of body mass index to change in obesity and underweight NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (NCD-RisC)

From 1985 to 2016, the prevalence of underweight decreased, and that of obesity and severe obesity increased, in most regions, with significant variation in the magnitude of these changes across regions. We investigated how much change in mean body mass index (BMI) explains changes in the prevalence of underweight, obesity, and severe obesity in different regions using data from 2896 population-based studies with 187 million participants. Changes in the prevalence of underweight and total obesity, and to a lesser extent severe obesity, are largely driven by shifts in the distribution of BMI, with smaller contributions from changes in the shape of the distribution. In East and Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, the underweight tail of the BMI distribution was left behind as the distribution shifted. There is a need for policies that address all forms of malnutrition by making healthy foods accessible and affordable, while restricting unhealthy foods through fiscal and regulatory restrictions

Diminishing benefits of urban living for children and adolescents’ growth and development

AbstractOptimal growth and development in childhood and adolescence is crucial for lifelong health and well-being1–6. Here we used data from 2,325 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight from 71 million participants, to report the height and body-mass index (BMI) of children and adolescents aged 5–19 years on the basis of rural and urban place of residence in 200 countries and territories from 1990 to 2020. In 1990, children and adolescents residing in cities were taller than their rural counterparts in all but a few high-income countries. By 2020, the urban height advantage became smaller in most countries, and in many high-income western countries it reversed into a small urban-based disadvantage. The exception was for boys in most countries in sub-Saharan Africa and in some countries in Oceania, south Asia and the region of central Asia, Middle East and north Africa. In these countries, successive cohorts of boys from rural places either did not gain height or possibly became shorter, and hence fell further behind their urban peers. The difference between the age-standardized mean BMI of children in urban and rural areas was &lt;1.1 kg m–2 in the vast majority of countries. Within this small range, BMI increased slightly more in cities than in rural areas, except in south Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and some countries in central and eastern Europe. Our results show that in much of the world, the growth and developmental advantages of living in cities have diminished in the twenty-first century, whereas in much of sub-Saharan Africa they have amplified.</jats:p

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 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 https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/images/research_banner_face_lab_290.jpgunderweight 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 obesity

Lower educational level remains associated with lower body height among Austrian conscripts born from 1961 through 2002

Growth patterns and final body height are influenced by genetic and socio-environmental factors. A major impact of education on growth has been documented. Body height increases with an increasing educational level. The present study focuses on the association patterns between body height and educational level among 1,734,569 Austrian male conscripts aged 17 to <19 born between 1961 and 2002. Four levels of education were classified to examine their association with body height. Over 42 years, the percentage of conscripts at the lowest educational level decreased dramatically from 37.5% to 1.7%. All educational classes showed increasing body heights over time. Despite a marked improvement in the living standard, body heights at different educational levels did not converge. In Austria, educational and social advancement was associated with higher population body heights. Young men at the lowest educational level, however, remain shorter and their body height gap to the highest educational level has widened

Thirty-Five Years Trend in the Prevalence of Refractive Error in Austrian Conscripts based on 1.5 million participants

Background: To quantify the current burden of myopia and hyperopia in Austrian young men and the time trend of myopia in the past 35 years by individual and social correlates. Method: We included data on all Austrian military conscripts from 1983 to 2017 (n=1 507 063) from six medical investigation stations. Young men provided data on education, weight and height for calculating body mass index, blood pressure and resting heart rate. Non-cycloplegic refractions were measured by an autorefractometer. Spherical equivalent was calculated by standard formula (sphere+cylinder/2, unit dioptres (D)). Myopic refractive error was defined as 0.5 D. Results: The largest burden of refractive error in Austria is myopia, which rose from 13.8% to 24.4% over 35 years, with less than 5% hyperopic population. Over time, the prevalence of myopia was constantly lower yet increased more rapidly among those with low education levels (11.4%–21.7%) compared with those with higher education (24.5%–29.6%) in all medical investigation stations. We found consistent associations of some unfavourable health indicators (underweight: ORs 1.1–1.4, higher resting heart rate: all p trend <0.001) with higher myopia prevalence, which point towards lifestyle factors playing an important role in the development of myopia. Conclusion: Primary preventive measures are needed to curb the observed trend in myopia among Austrian young men. Future research should investigate the impact of modifiable factors on myopia development and progression, particularly lifestyle factors that are dramatically shifting

Psychiatric Hospital Bed Numbers and Prison Population Sizes in 26 European Countries: A Critical Reconsideration of the Penrose Hypothesis.

Recently, there has been a revived interest in the validity of the Penrose hypothesis, which was originally postulated over 75 years ago. It suggests an inverse relationship between the numbers of psychiatric hospital beds and the sizes of prison population. This study aims to investigate the association between psychiatric hospital beds and prison populations in a large sample of 26 European countries between 1993 and 2011.The association between prison population sizes and numbers of psychiatric hospital beds was assessed by means of Spearman correlations and modeled by a mixed random coefficient regression model. Socioeconomic variables were considered as covariates. Data were retrieved from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.Mean Spearman correlation coefficients between psychiatric beds and prison population showed a significant negative association (-0.35; p = <0.01). However, in the mixed regression model including socioeconomic covariates there were no significant fixed parameter estimates. Meanwhile, the covariance estimates for the random coefficients psychiatric beds (σ2 = 0.75, p = <0.01) and year (σ2 = 0.0007, p = 0.03) yielded significant results.These findings do not support the general validity of the Penrose hypothesis. Notably, the results of the mixed-model show a significant variation in the magnitude and direction of the association of psychiatric hospital bed numbers and the prison population sizes between countries. In this sense, our results challenge the prevalent opinion that a reduction of psychiatric beds subsequently leads to increasing incarcerations. These findings also work against the potential stigmatization of individuals suffering from mental disorders as criminals, which could be an unintentional byproduct of the Penrose hypothesis

Spearman correlations between prison population and other variables for all 26 countries.

<p>Spearman correlations between prison population and other variables for all 26 countries.</p