Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-mkpzs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-29T15:11:26.416Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

SUPER SIZE SPAIN? A CROSS-SECTIONAL AND QUASI-COHORT TREND ANALYSIS OF ADULT OVERWEIGHT AND OBESITY IN AN ACCELERATED TRANSITION COUNTRY

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 January 2010

ANTONIO D. CÁMARA  and
JEROEN J. A. SPIJKER
ANTONIO D. CÁMARA
Affiliation:
Centre d'Estudis Demogràfics and Department of Geography, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain
JEROEN J. A. SPIJKER
Affiliation:
Centre d'Estudis Demogràfics and Department of Geography, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Excess weight is becoming widespread in Spain due to changes in nutritional habits and lifestyles. Previous studies on this issue have focused on specific Spanish regions, subpopulations or relatively short time spans. This study analysed sex, age and cohort trends in the prevalence of adult overweight and obesity over the last two decades by applying a demographic methodology. Data came from the Spanish National Health Surveys that were held between 1987 and 2006. The respondent's demographic characteristics and self-reported height and weight were aggregated to a single dataset in order to analyse changes in weight and BMI by age and sex, over time and within and between quasi birth-cohorts. After correcting for sample bias and coding errors a total sample of about 100,000 subjects aged 20–79 was obtained. The results show that between 1987 and 2006 adult males and females increased their average weight by 8.2% and 2.8%, respectively. While among younger adults this is partly explained by height increases, prevalence in excess weight increased among 50- to 79-year-old males. Persons of the same 10-year age group but of a more recent 10-year quasi birth-cohort had a BMI that was 0.2–0.8 points higher. BMI increases were lower for women and mainly affected 60–79 year olds. In fact, even decreases were observed for 40- to 49 and 50- to 59-year-old women. Potential explanatory factors are discussed.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 42 , Issue 3 , May 2010 , pp. 377 - 393
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aranceta, J., Perez Rodrigo, C., Serra Majem, L., Ribas Barba, L., Quiles Izquierdo, J., Vioque, J et al. (2005) Prevalence of obesity in Spain: results of the SEEDO 2000 study. Medicina Clínica 120, 608–612.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Birrell, F., Pearce, M. S., Francis, R. M. & Parker, L. (2005) Self-report overestimates true height loss: implications for diagnosis of osteoporosis. Clinical Rheumatology 24(6), 590–592.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bogin, B. (1991) Patterns of Human Growth. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Borkan, G., Hults, D. E. & Glynn, R. J. (1983) Role of longitudinal change and secular trend in age differences in male body dimensions. Human Biology 55(3), 629–641.Google ScholarPubMed
Brown, J. E., Kaye, S. A., Folsom, A. R. (1992) Parity-related weight change in women. International Journal of Obesity 16, 627–631.Google ScholarPubMed
Cámara, A. D. & Spijker, J. J. A. (2008) The concern of overweight among the adult population in contemporary Spain: results from the Spanish National Health Surveys (SNHA). European Population Conference,July 9th–12th,Barcelona, Spain.Google Scholar
Cussó, X. (2005) El estado nutritivo de la población española, 1900–1970. Análisis de las necesidades y disponibilidades de nutrientes. Historia Agraria 36, 329–358.Google Scholar
de Groot, C. P., Perdigao, A. & Deurenberg, P. (1996) Longitudinal changes in anthropometric characteristics of elderly Europeans. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 50(2), 9–15.Google Scholar
Dey, D. K., Rothberg, E., Sundh, V., Bosaeus, I. & Steen, B. (1999) Height and body weight in the elderly: a 25-year longitudinal study of a population aged 70 to 95 years. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 53, 905–914.Google Scholar
Ezzati, M., Martin, H., Skjold, S., Vander Hoorn, S. & Murray, C. (2006) Trends in national and state-level obesity in the USA after correction for self-report bias: analysis of health surveys. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine 99, 250–257.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Frejka, T. & Sardon, J. P. (2004) Childbearing Trends and Prospects in Low-Fertility Countries. A Cohort Analysis. European Studies of Population, vol. 13. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht.Google Scholar
Gil, J. & Mora, A. (2009) The Determinants of Misreporting Weight and Height: The Role of Social Norms. FEDEA Working Paper Series 2009.Google Scholar
Gunnell, D., Berney, L., Holland, P., Maynard, M., Blane, D., Frankel, S. & Smith, G. D. (2000) How accurately are height, weight and leg length reported by the elderly and how closely are they related to measurements recorded in childhood? International Journal of Epidemiology 29, 456–464.Google Scholar
Gutiérrez-Fisac, J. L., López, E., Banegas, R., Graciani, A. & Rodríguez Artalejo, F. (2004) Prevalence of overweight and obesity in elderly people in Spain. Obesity Research 12(4), 710–715.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gutiérrez-Fisac, J. L., Regidor, E. & Rodríguez, C. (1999) Trends in obesity differences by educational level in Spain. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology 49(3), 351–354.Google Scholar
Halkjær, J. & Sørensen, T. (2004) Psychosocial and demographic determinants of regional differences in the prevalence of obesity. Journal of Biosocial Science 36, 141–152.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Harris, H. E., Ellison, G. T. H. & Holliday, M. (1997) Is there an independent association between parity and maternal weight gain? Annals of Human Biology 24(6), 507–519.Google Scholar
INE (National Statistics Institute) (1995) Household Budget Survey 1990–91. National Study of Nutrition and Diet. Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Madrid.Google Scholar
Kirchengast, S. & Schober, E. (2005) To be an immigrant: a risk factor for developing overweight and obesity during childhood and adolescence? Journal of Biosocial Science 38, 695–705.Google Scholar
Komlos, J., Smith, P. & Bogin, B. (2004) Obesity and the rate of time preference: is there a connection? Journal of Biosocial Science 36, 209–219.Google Scholar
Kuczmarski, M. F., Kuczmarski, R. J. & Najar, M. (2001) Effects of age on validity of self-reported height, weight, and body mass index: findings from the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1988–1994. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 101(1), 28–34.Google Scholar
Lawlor, D. A., Bedrod, C., Taylor, M. & Ebrahim, S. (2002) Agreement between measured and self-reported weight in older women. Results from the British Women's Health and Heart Study. Age and Ageing 31, 169–174.Google Scholar
Leidy, L. (1998) Menopause. In Ulijaszek, S., Johnston, F. E. & Preece, M. A. (eds) The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Human Growth and Development. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 422–424.Google Scholar
MHC (Spanish Ministry of Health and Consumption) (2005a) La salud de la población española en el contexto europeo y del Sistema Nacional de Salud. URL: http://www.misc.es/estadEstudios/estadisticas/inforRecopilaciones/indicadoresSalud.htm (accessed 1st April 2009).Google Scholar
MHC (Spanish Ministry of Health and Consumption) (2005b) Estrategia Naos. Agencia Española de Seguridad Alimentaria, Ministerio de Sanidad y Consumo, Madrid.Google Scholar
Moreno, L. A., Sarría, A., Fleta, J., Rodríguez, G., Pérez González, J. M. & Bueno, M. (2001) Sociodemographic factors and trends on overweight prevalence in children and adolescents in Aragón (Spain) from 1985 to 1995. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology 54, 921–927.Google Scholar
Moreno, L. A., Sarría, A. & Popkin, B. M. (2002) The nutrition transition in Spain: a European Mediterranean country. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 56, 992–1003.Google Scholar
Nawaz, H., Chan, W., Abdulrahman, M., Larson, D. & Katz, D. L. (2001) Self-reported weight and height. Implications for obesity research. American Journal of Preventive Medicine 20(4), 294–298.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Norgan, N. G. (1994) Population differences in body composition in relation to the body mass index. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 48, Supplement 3, S10–27.Google Scholar
OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) (2008) How does Spain Compare? In OECD Health Data 2008: Statistics and Indicators for 30 Countries. URL: http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/46/7/38980294.pdf (accessed 1st April 2009).Google Scholar
Rios, M., Fluiters, E., Pérez, L. F., García-Mayor, E. G. & García-Mayor, R. V. (1999) Prevalence of childhood overweight in Northwestern Spain: a comparative study of two periods with a ten-year interval. International Journal of Obesity 23, 1095–1098.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rolland-Cachera, M. F. (1998) Body mass index references. In Ulijaszek, S., Johnston, F. E. & Preece, M. A. (eds) The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Human Growth and Development. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, p. 68.Google Scholar
Rowland, M. L. (1990) Self-reported weight and height. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 52, 1125–1133.Google Scholar
Serra-Majem, L., Ribas, L., Aranceta, J., Pérez, C., Saavedra, P. & Peña, L. (2003) Obesidad infantil y juvenil en España. Resultados del Estudio enKid (1998–2000). Medicina Clínica 121(19), 725–732.Google Scholar
Serra-Majem, L., Ribas, L., Treserras, R., Ngo, J. & Salleras, L. (1995) How could changes in diet explain changes in coronary heart disease mortality in Spain? The Spanish paradox. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 61, Supplement, 1351S–1359.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shetty, P. S. (1998) Body-size and energy needs. In Ulijaszek, S., Johnston, F. E. & Preece, M. A. (eds) The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Human Growth and Development. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, p. 329.Google Scholar
Spijker, J. J. A., Pérez, J. & Cámara, A. D. (2008) Cambios generacionales de la estatura en la España del siglo XX a partir de la Encuesta Nacional de Salud. Revista Estadística Española 169(50), 571–604.Google Scholar
Szklarska, A. & Jankowska, E. A. (2003) Independent effects of social position and parity on body mass index among Polish adult women. Journal of Biosocial Science 35, 575–583.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ulijaszek, S. (1998) Obesity, fatness and modernization. In Ulijaszek, S., Johnston, F. E. & Preece, M. A. (eds) The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Human Growth and Development. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 410–411.Google Scholar
Varo, J. J. (2002) Actividad física y estilos de vida sedentarios en la Unión Europea. PhD thesis, Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain.Google Scholar
World Health Organization (2006) Highlights on Spain 2004. World Health Organization, Geneva. URL: http://www.euro.who.int/document/chh/spa_highlights.pdf (accessed 1st April 2009).Google Scholar