Objective  To investigate the prevalence and affecting factors of overweight/obesity among urban and rural residents aged 18 – 44 years in Fujian province and to provide evidences for developing relevant intervention strategies.

  Methods   Using stratified random cluster sampling, we recruited 6 638 permanent residents at ages of 18 – 44 years in 25 urban communities and rural villages of 5 county/district-level regions located in coastal areas of Fujian province and conducted a questionnaire survey and physical examination among the residents from July 2018 through April 2019.

  Results  Of the 6 150 residents with complete information, 1 317 (21.41%) and 455 (7.40%) were identified with overweight and obesity. Among the overweight/obesity sufferers, the prevalence rate of hypertension (5.64%), diabetes (1.91%) and hyperlipidemias (1.81%) were significantly higher than those among the residents without overweight/obesity (all P < 0.05). The results of unconditional logistic regression analysis revealed that significant risk factors of overweight/obesity included at an elder age (35 – 44 vs. 18 – 24: odds ratio OR=1.775, 95% confidence interval CI: 1.457 – 2.161), with lower education (junior high school vs. senior high school and above: OR = 1.468, 95% CI: 1.222 – 1.763; primary school or illiteracy vs. senior high school and above: OR = 1.228, 95% CI: 1.084 – 1.391), being married (OR = 1.479, 95% CI: 1.244 – 1.758), and frequent alcohol consumption (2 – 3 times/week vs. ≤ once/week: OR = 1.789, 95% CI: 1.547 – 2.068; 4 times and more/week vs. ≤ once/week: OR = 1.678, 95% CI: 1.336 – 2.108); while female gender (OR = 0.470, 95% CI: 0.416 – 0.531) was a protective factor against overweight/obesity.

  Conclusion   The prevalence rate of overweight/obesity are relatively low and influenced significantly by gender, age, marital status, education and alcohol drinking among 18 to 44 years old permanent residents in coastal areas of Fujian province.