title: Prevalence of obesity and abdominal obesity in Swedish primary care and occupational health clinics.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The objective of this study was to describe the prevalence of obesity and abdominal obesity in the Swedish primary and occupational health care setting.
  
  
  METHODS
  Weight, height, and waist circumference (WC) were measured in 1,583 consecutive patients, aged between 18-65 years (46.4 +/- 12.7 years), in 39 primary care and occupational health practices in Sweden, in 2006. The National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) WC reference values were used to define abdominal obesity (102 and 88 cm for men and women, respectively).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The distribution across obesity categories differed significantly between men and women with close to 70 and 55% of men and women, respectively, having a body mass index (BMI) >or= 25. More men than women were overweight (BMI 25-29.9; 45.1 vs. 31.1%) and obese (BMI 30-34.9; 19.8 vs. 12.9%), but less men than women were morbidly obese (4.0 vs. 8.9%; BMI >or= 35). Increasing prevalence with age was seen until age 60 for both overweight and obesity. More women than men were abdominally obese (42.5 vs. 32.7%; p < 0.001). Only 48 and 64% of the abdominally obese women and men, respectively, had a BMI >or= 30.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Compared to national Swedish data, the prevalence of overweight and obesity was higher in primary and occupational health care settings. Both morbid obesity and abdominal obesity were highly prevalent and more common in women, implying that awareness of sex differences may be important or that recommended cut-offs are not comparable across sex. Furthermore, a large fraction of the abdominally obese had a BMI < 30. Both BMI and WC may therefore be important to determine routinely and incorporate into treatment guidelines, in order not to miss patients at risk of obesity-related morbidity.
authors.affiliation: Obesity Unit, Karolinska Institutet, Karolinska University Hospital (Huddinge), Stockholm, Sweden. jan.pettersson@abbott.com
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pettersson
authors.forename: Kari
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Johansson
authors.forename: Stephan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rössner
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Neovius
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D015992:Body Mass Index; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D056128:Obesity, Abdominal / Q000453:epidemiology*; D009767:Obesity, Morbid / Q000453:epidemiology*; D009786:Occupational Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015995:Prevalence; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012307:Risk Factors; D017678:Sex Distribution; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult