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Overweight and obesity trends among Japanese adults: a 10-year follow-up of the JPHC Study

International Journal of Obesity volume 32, pages 1861–1867 (2008)Cite this article

Abstract

Objective:

Limited data are available regarding longitudinal changes in body weight. Here, we describe changes in the prevalences of overweight and obesity and calculated the incidence of these indices during a 10-year follow-up period for a large-scale cohort study in Japan.

Design:

Longitudinal analysis of data from a population-based cohort study, the Japan Public Health Center (JPHC) Study.

Participants:

A total of 65 095 Japanese men and women, who were between the ages of 40 and 69 years at baseline and participated in the 5th- and 10th-year follow-up surveys of the JPHC, were enroled in the study.

Measurements:

Mean body mass index (BMI), calculated using self-reported height and weight, and the prevalences of overweight (BMI ⩾25 kg/m2) and obesity (BMI ⩾30 kg/m2) at each survey period. Incidences of overweight and obesity during the 10-year period.

Results:

On an average, individuals living in Okinawa had much higher BMIs than those living on the Main islands for all sex and age groups. During the follow-up period, the prevalences of overweight and obesity steadily increased in the cohorts aged less than 50 years at baseline in both sexes. Men in younger cohorts had a higher mean BMI than those in the same age group of older cohorts, whereas the opposite trend was observed in women. The incidence of overweight individuals was greater in Okinawa than on the Main islands and among younger generations than among older ones.

Conclusion:

A longitudinal analysis at the individual level showed that the prevalences of overweight and obesity increased among middle-aged Japanese participants during the follow-up period. Among men, an increasing prevalence of obesity was observed among the younger generations. These findings should be taken into consideration when planning preventive strategies for obesity and its related diseases.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Drs Masayuki Kato and Kyoko Kirii for their useful advice. This study was supported by a grant-in-aid for Cancer Research (19shi-2) and a Health Sciences Research Grant (Research on Comprehensive Research on Cardiovascular Diseases H19-016) from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology and International Health, Research Institute, International Medical Center of Japan, Tokyo, Japan

    Y Matsushita & T Mizoue

  2. Department of Diabetes and Metabolic Medicine, International Medical Center of Japan, Tokyo, Japan

    Y Takahashi & M Noda

  3. Epidemiology and Prevention Division, Research Center for Cancer Prevention and Screening, National Cancer Center, Tokyo, Japan

    M Inoue & S Tsugane

Authors
  1. Y Matsushita
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  2. Y Takahashi
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  3. T Mizoue
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  4. M Inoue
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  5. M Noda
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  6. S Tsugane
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Consortia

for the JPHC Study Group

Corresponding author

Correspondence to M Noda.

Appendix

Appendix

Members of the Japan Public Health Center-based Prospective Study (JPHC Study, principal investigator: S Tsugane) Group are: S Tsugane, M Inoue, T Sobue and T Hanaoka, National Cancer Center, Tokyo, Japan; J Ogata, S Baba, T Mannami, A Okayama and Y Kokubo, National Cardiovascular Center, Osaka, Japan; K Miyakawa, F Saito, A Koizumi, Y Sano, I Hashimoto, T Ikuta and Y Tanaba, Iwate Prefectural Ninohe Public Health Center, Iwate, Japan; Y Miyajima, N Suzuki, S Nagasawa, Y Furusugi and N Nagai, Akita Prefectural Yokote Public Health Center, Akita, Japan; H Sanada, Y Hatayama, F Kobayashi, H Uchino, Y Shirai, T Kondo, R Sasaki, Y Watanabe, Y Miyagawa and Y Kobayashi, Nagano Prefectural Saku Public Health Center, Nagano, Japan; Y Kishimoto, E Takara, T Fukuyama, M Kinjo, M Irei and H Sakiyama, Okinawa Prefectural Chubu Public Health Center, Okinawa, Japan; K Imoto, H Yazawa, T Seo, A Seiko, F Ito, F Shoji and R Saito, Katsushika Public Health Center, Tokyo, Japan; A Murata, K Minato, K Motegi and T Fujieda, Ibaraki Prefectural Mito Public Health Center, Ibaraki, Japan; K Matsui, T Abe, M Katagiri and M Suzuki, Niigata Prefectural Kashiwazaki and Nagaoka Public Health Center, Niigata, Japan; M Doi, A Terao, Y Ishikawa and T Tagami, Kochi Prefectural Chuo-higashi Public Health Center, Kochi, Japan; H Sueta, H Doi, M Urata, N Okamoto and F Ide, Nagasaki Prefectural Kamigoto Public Health Center, Nagasaki, Japan; H Sakiyama, N Onga, H Takaesu and M Uehara, Okinawa Prefectural Miyako Public Health Center, Okinawa, Japan; F Horii, I Asano, H Yamaguchi, K Aoki, S Maruyama, M Ichii and M Takano, Osaka Prefectural Suita Public Health Center, Osaka, Japan; Y Tsubono, Tohoku University, Miyagi, Japan; K Suzuki, Research Institute for Brain and Blood Vessels Akita, Akita, Japan; Y Honda, K Yamagishi, S Sakurai and N Tsuchiya, Tsukuba University, Ibaraki, Japan; M Kabuto, National Institute for Environmental Studies, Ibaraki, Japan; M Yamaguchi, Y Matsumura, S Sasaki and S Watanabe, National Institute of Health and Nutrition, Tokyo, Japan; M Akabane, Tokyo University of Agriculture, Tokyo, Japan; T Kadowaki, Tokyo University, Tokyo, Japan; M Noda and T Mizoue, International Medical Center of Japan, Tokyo, Japan; Y Kawaguchi, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan; Y Takashima and M Yoshida, Kyorin University, Tokyo, Japan; K Nakamura, Niigata University, Niigata, Japan; S Matsushima and S Natsukawa, Saku General Hospital, Nagano, Japan; H Shimizu, Sakihae Institute, Gifu, Japan; H Sugimura, Hamamatsu University, Shizuoka, Japan; S Tominaga, Aichi Cancer Center Research Institute, Aichi, Japan; H Iso, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan; M Iida, W Ajiki and A Ioka, Osaka Medical Center for Cancer and Cardiovascular Disease, Osaka, Japan; S Sato, Chiba Prefectural Institute of Public Health, Chiba, Japan; E Maruyama, Kobe University, Hyogo, Japan; M Konishi, K Okada and I Saito, Ehime University, Ehime, Japan; N Yasuda, Kochi University, Kochi, Japan; and S Kono, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.

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Matsushita, Y., Takahashi, Y., Mizoue, T. et al. Overweight and obesity trends among Japanese adults: a 10-year follow-up of the JPHC Study. Int J Obes 32, 1861–1867 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2008.188

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