Volume 88, Issue 1, July (2002), pp. 91-97 © The Author 2002

Medline/PubMed Citation | Related Articles in PubMed | Download to Citation Matcher  

Comparison of dietary and non-dietary risk factors in overweight and normal-weight Chinese adults

Gang Hu^1*, Heikki Pekkarinen¹, Osmo Hänninen¹, Huiguang Tian² and Rongpei Jin^2
1Department of Physiology, University of Kuopio, Kuopio, Finland
²Food Safety Control and Inspection Institute Tianjin, Tianjin, The People's Republic of China

 (Received 6 Deccember 2000–Revised 31 August 2001–Accepted 15 February 2002)

The aim of the present study was to compare the differences in dietary and non-dietary factors contributing to normal weight and overweight among urban Chinese adults. Two cross-sectional population surveys were carried out in Tianjin, one of the largest cities in China. A total of 2631 subjects aged 25–64 years were selected by random stratified cluster sampling; 398 men and 490 women were overweight, and 886 men and 857 women were of normal weight. The diet was assessed by food weighing plus consecutive individual 3 d food records. Health-related behaviours and anthropometry were assessed. The overweight group had significantly higher mean daily intakes of energy and carbohydrate than the normal-weight group. Overweight men also had significantly higher mean daily intakes of protein and fat than normal-weight men. Age, daily intakes of energy and carbohydrate, and marital status were positively associated with overweight, while occupational and commuting physical activity, as well as smoking, were inversely associated with overweight among both genders. Daily intakes of protein, fat and alcohol were positively related to the incidence of being overweight among men. People with 7–12 years education were more likely to be overweight compared with those with less than 6 years of education. High intakes of energy and carbohydrate among both genders, as well as high intakes of protein and fat among men, and lower levels of occupational and commuting physical activity, being a non-smoker, and partly higher socio-economic status were related to a greater incidence of being overweight in this population.

Abbreviations: SES; socio-economic status

Corresponding author: Dr Gang Hu, present address, Department of Epidemiology and Health Promotion, National Public Health Institute, Mannerheimintie 166, FIN-00300 Helsinki, Finland, fax +358 9 4744 8338, email hu.gang@ktl.fi

Keywords:
Risk factors: Overweight: Chinese adults