Abstract
BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to describe the prevalence of obesity and abdominal obesity in the Swedish primary and occupational health care setting. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Weight, height, and waist circumference (WC) were measured in 1,583 consecutive patients, aged between 18-65 years (46.4 +/- 12.7 years), in 39 primary care and occupational health practices in Sweden, in 2006. The National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) WC reference values were used to define abdominal obesity (102 and 88 cm for men and women, respectively). RESULTS: The distribution across obesity categories differed significantly between men and women with close to 70 and 55% of men and women, respectively, having a body mass index (BMI) >or= 25. More men than women were overweight (BMI 25-29.9; 45.1 vs. 31.1%) and obese (BMI 30-34.9; 19.8 vs. 12.9%), but less men than women were morbidly obese (4.0 vs. 8.9%; BMI >or= 35). Increasing prevalence with age was seen until age 60 for both overweight and obesity. More women than men were abdominally obese (42.5 vs. 32.7%; p < 0.001). Only 48 and 64% of the abdominally obese women and men, respectively, had a BMI >or= 30. CONCLUSION: Compared to national Swedish data, the prevalence of overweight and obesity was higher in primary and occupational health care settings. Both morbid obesity and abdominal obesity were highly prevalent and more common in women, implying that awareness of sex differences may be important or that recommended cut-offs are not comparable across sex. Furthermore, a large fraction of the abdominally obese had a BMI < 30. Both BMI and WC may therefore be important to determine routinely and incorporate into treatment guidelines, in order not to miss patients at risk of obesity-related morbidity.