title: Effect of Evacuation on Body Weight After the Great East Japan Earthquake.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The Great East Japan Earthquake occurred on March 11, 2011, with a nuclear accident subsequently occurring at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. The government ordered a mandatory evacuation from the high radioactive concentration area in Fukushima, which might have forced many evacuees to change particular aspects of their lifestyles. This study assessed the hypothesis that mean body weight and the proportion of overweight/obese individuals would increase among evacuees after versus before the disaster.
  
  
  METHODS
  A longitudinal study examined data collected from 41,633 Japanese participants (mean age, 67 years) sourced from general health checkups conducted in 13 communities between 2008 and 2010. Follow-up examinations were conducted from June 2011 through March 2013.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 27,486 participants (12,432 men and 15,054 women; follow-up proportion, 66%) received follow-up examinations after the disaster, with an average follow-up of 1.6 years. Mean body weight significantly increased in both evacuees (n=9,671) and non-evacuees (n=17,815) after the disaster, with greater changes in body weight among evacuees than non-evacuees (+1.2 kg vs +0.3 kg, p<0.001). The proportion of overweight/obese people also increased among evacuees after the disaster, and evacuation was associated with an increased risk of being overweight, despite adjustments for confounding variables. The proportions of overweight evacuees before and after the disaster were 31.8% and 39.4%, respectively, whereas proportions among non-evacuees were 28.3% and 30.3%, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Body weight and the proportion of overweight/obese people increased among residents, especially evacuees, in the evacuation zone of Fukushima prefecture after the Great East Japan Earthquake.
authors.affiliation: Radiation Medical Science Center for the Fukushima Health Management Survey, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan; Department of Epidemiology, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Fukushima, Japan. Electronic address: teoohira@fmu.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Tetsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ohira
authors.affiliation: Radiation Medical Science Center for the Fukushima Health Management Survey, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan; Department of Pediatrics, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Fukushima, Japan.
authors.forename: Mitsuaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hosoya
authors.affiliation: Radiation Medical Science Center for the Fukushima Health Management Survey, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan; Department of Public Health, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Fukushima, Japan.
authors.forename: Seiji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yasumura
authors.affiliation: Radiation Medical Science Center for the Fukushima Health Management Survey, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan; Department of Nephrology, Hypertension, Diabetology, and Endocrinology, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Fukushima, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Satoh
authors.affiliation: Radiation Medical Science Center for the Fukushima Health Management Survey, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan; Department of Cardiology and Hematology, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Fukushima, Japan.
authors.forename: Hitoshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.affiliation: Radiation Medical Science Center for the Fukushima Health Management Survey, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan; Department of Radiation Life Sciences, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Fukushima, Japan.
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sakai
authors.affiliation: Radiation Medical Science Center for the Fukushima Health Management Survey, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan; Department of Radiation Health Management, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Fukushima, Japan.
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ohtsuru
authors.affiliation: Radiation Medical Science Center for the Fukushima Health Management Survey, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan; Department of Pediatrics, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Fukushima, Japan.
authors.forename: Yukihiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kawasaki
authors.affiliation: Radiation Medical Science Center for the Fukushima Health Management Survey, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan; Department of Gastroenterology and Rheumatology, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Fukushima, Japan.
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Radiation Effects Research Foundation, Hiroshima, Japan.
authors.forename: Kotaro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ozasa
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Dokkyo Medical University School of Medicine, Tochigi, Japan.
authors.forename: Gen
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kobashi
authors.affiliation: Radiation Medical Science Center for the Fukushima Health Management Survey, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan; Research Institute for Radiation Biology and Medicine, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan.
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kamiya
authors.affiliation: Radiation Medical Science Center for the Fukushima Health Management Survey, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan; Atomic Bomb Disease Institute, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan.
authors.forename: Shunichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yamashita
authors.affiliation: Radiation Medical Science Center for the Fukushima Health Management Survey, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan.
authors.forename: Masafumi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Abe
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001835:Body Weight / Q000502:physiology; D004190:Disasters; D055866:Earthquakes; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D062406:Fukushima Nuclear Accident; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008019:Life Style; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology*; D050177:Overweight / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012306:Risk