title: Prevalence of overweight and obesity in Austrian male and female farmers.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Risk factors for chronic and degenerative diseases, especially overweight and obesity are rarely examined among farmers. Objective of the study was to determine subjective health and health-related lifestyle among Austrian farmers.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study was performed in 1999/2000 as a nationwide survey by mail among all Austrian farmers, men and women, all insured by the Health Insurance Agency of Farmers.
  
  
  RESULTS
  15.2% of the farmers were obese. 42.9% were overweight. The prevalence of overweight and obesity was high amongst 15-19 year olds, and reached a second peak among the age groups 50-59 and 60-69 years old. Geographically, the highest concentration of overweight and obese farmers was found in the eastern, flat regions of Austria and the lowest concentration in the western, mountainous areas of Austria.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Prevalence of overweight and obesity is very high among Austrian farmers, especially when compared to the general population. The results of this study emphasize the need for further work, with respect to the development of prevention strategies to reduce the prevalence of overweight and obesity among Austrian farmers.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Social Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna. thomas.dorner@univie.ac.at
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Dorner
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Leitner
authors.forename: Heinrich
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Stadlmann
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Fischer
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Neidhart
authors.forename: Kitty
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lawrence
authors.forename: Ingrid
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kiefer
authors.forename: Theres
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Rathmanner
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kunze
authors.forename: Anita
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rieder
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000382:Agricultural Workers' Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D001317:Austria / Q000453:epidemiology; D015992:Body Mass Index; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D019371:Topography, Medical / Q000706:statistics & numerical data