title: Secular trends of obesity and cardiovascular risk factors in a Mediterranean population.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate time trends of obesity, abdominal obesity, and cardiovascular risk factors (CRFs) according to BMI and waist circumference (WC) categories in a Mediterranean population.
  
  
  METHODS
  Subjects were Spanish men (n = 2383) and women (n = 2525) 25 to 74 years old, examined in 1994 to 1995 and 1999 to 2000 in two independent population-based cross-sectional surveys in the northeast of Spain. Lifestyle measures, CRFs, and anthropometric variables were analyzed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Over the 5 years of the study, mean age-standardized BMI increased by 1.0 units in men and by 0.8 units in women. At the same time the prevalence of obesity increased from 15.4% to 21.9% in men and from 15.4% to 21.4% in women. An upward trend was observed for WC and abdominal obesity (WC > 102 cm in men and WC > 88 cm in women) only in men. The proportion of men and women with hypercholesterolemia, diabetes, and low high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol plasma concentration remained stable within BMI and WC categories. The proportion of hypertension and smoking in obese men significantly increased from 1995 to 2000.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The 5-year increase in BMI and WC is of considerable magnitude in the present population, although several CRFs remained stable within BMI and WC categories.
authors: Lipids and Cardiovascular Epidemiology Research Unit, Institut Municipal d'Investigació Mèdica, c/Doctor Aiguader 80, 08003 Barcelona, Spain. hschroeder@imim.es
authors: Helmut
authors: H
authors: Schröder
authors: Roberto
authors: R
authors: Elosua
authors: Joan
authors: J
authors: Vila
authors: Helena
authors: H
authors: Marti
authors: Maria Isabel
authors: MI
authors: Covas
authors: Jaume
authors: J
authors: Marrugat
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D019083:Mediterranean Region; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D013030:Spain; D013995:Time; D049629:Waist-Hip Ratio