Prevalence and influencing factors of obesity among rural residents 40 years old and above in Liaoning province

  Objective  To examine the prevalence of obesity in rural residents aged over 40 years old and above in Liaoning province for providing evidences to prevention and control of obesity.

  Methods  We recruited 12 808 permanent residents aged 40 years and above from 19 villages of 4 counties in Liaoning province using random cluster sampling and conducted questionnaire survey, physical examination and laboratory test from September 2017 to May 2018 to analyze the prevalence and impact factors of obesity among the residents.

  Results  The overall prevalence rate of obesity was 18.5% among the 10 926 residents completing the survey, with a significantly higher prevalence rate among the female participants than among the male participants (21.3% vs. 14.1%, χ² = 90.415; P < 0.001). The standardized obesity prevalence rate was 19.8% for all the participants and the standardized rate was 17.5% and 21.4% for the male and the female participants. The highest age-specific prevalence rate of obesity was 23.9% in the males aged 40 – 49 years and 23.6% in the females aged 50 – 59 years. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that female gender, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, high triglyceride, low high density lipid-cholesterol, high low density lipid-cholesterol, and family history of hypertension were risk factors of obesity; while, aged 50 years and above, annual family income of 5 000 – 19 999 RMB yuan, living alone, and smoking were protective factors against obesity.

  Conclusion  The prevalence of obesity is high in rural residents 40 years old and above in Liaoning province and preventive intervention should be promoted in the residents with different characteristics.