Changes in body weight and obesity status in German adults: results of seven population-based prospective studies.
OBJECTIVE
The objective of this study was to quantify body weight changes in German adult populations during the past decades.


METHODS
Longitudinal analysis of seven cohort studies covering different age ranges between 18 and 83 years. Baseline examinations were between 1994 and 2007 and follow-up durations between 4.0 and 11.9 years. For each study, mean change in body weight per year and 10-year change in body mass index (BMI) classification were analyzed. For the middle age group of 45-64 years, meta-analysis was conducted to obtain an overall estimate for Germany.


RESULTS
Among men weight gain was highest in the youngest participants and decreased with advancing age. Among women weight gain was on a stable high level among those younger than 45 years and decreased at older age. Within 10 years, 30-40% of middle-aged participants with normal baseline weight became pre-obese or obese and 20-25% of those with pre-obesity at baseline became obese, whereas >80% of persons who were obese at baseline remained obese over time. The estimated average weight change in adults aged 45-64 years was 0.25 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.18-0.33) kg/year among men and 0.24 (0.17-0.30) kg/year among women.


CONCLUSIONS
We could observe a moderate weight gain over the past years in German middle-aged populations of 0.25 kg/year. Obesity prevention needs to be targeted to specific subgroups in the population, especially to younger adults, who seem to be most vulnerable for gaining weight. Obesity intervention needs to be improved, as the majority of obese adults remained obese over time.
Department of Epidemiology and Health Monitoring, Robert Koch Institute, Berlin, Germany.
M
M
Haftenberger
Department of Epidemiology and Health Monitoring, Robert Koch Institute, Berlin, Germany.
G B M
GB
Mensink
Institute of Medical Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Informatics, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany.
B
B
Herzog
Institute of Medical Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Informatics, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany.
A
A
Kluttig
Institute of Medical Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Informatics, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany.|Division of Cancer Epidemiology, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany.
K H
KH
Greiser
Institute for Nutrition and Food Science, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-University Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
B
B
Merz
Institute for Nutrition and Food Science, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-University Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
U
U
Nöthlings
Institute of Epidemiology, Christian-Albrechts University of Kiel, Kiel, Germany.
S
S
Schlesinger
Institute of Epidemiology II, Helmholtz Center Munich, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany.
S
S
Vogt
Institute of Epidemiology II, Helmholtz Center Munich, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany.
B
B
Thorand
Institute of Epidemiology II, Helmholtz Center Munich, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany.|German Centre for Diabetes Research (DZD e.V.), Neuherberg, Germany.
A
A
Peters
Institute for Community Medicine, University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany.
T
T
Ittermann
Institute for Community Medicine, University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany.|German Centre of Cardiovascular Research, Partner Site Greifswald, University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany.
H
H
Völzke
Institute for Community Medicine, University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany.
S
S
Schipf
Division of Cancer Epidemiology, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany.
J
J
Neamat-Allah
Division of Cancer Epidemiology, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany.
T
T
Kühn
Division of Cancer Epidemiology, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany.
R
R
Kaaks
Department of Epidemiology, German Institute of Human Nutrition, Potsdam-Rehbrücke, Nuthetal, Germany.
H
H
Boeing
Department of Epidemiology, German Institute of Human Nutrition, Potsdam-Rehbrücke, Nuthetal, Germany.
U
U
Bachlechner
Department of Epidemiology and Health Monitoring, Robert Koch Institute, Berlin, Germany.
C
C
Scheidt-Nave
Department of Epidemiology and Health Monitoring, Robert Koch Institute, Berlin, Germany.
A
A
Schienkiewitz
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D015201:Meta-Analysis as Topic; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D055815:Young Adult