THE 10-YEAR INCIDENCE OF OVERWEIGHT AND MAJOR WEIGHT-GAIN IN US ADULTS

We estimated the 10-year incidence of major weight gain (a gain in body mass index of ≥5 kg/m2 and overweight (a body mass index of ≥27.8 for men and ≥27.3 for women) in US adults using data from the First National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey Epidemiologic Follow-up Study. Persons aged 25 to 74 years at baseline were reweighed a decade after their initial examination (men, 3727; women, 6135). The incidence of major weight gain was twice as high in women and was highest in persons aged 25 to 34 years (men, 3.9%; women, 8.4%). Initially overweight women aged 25 to 44 years had the highest incidence of major weight gain of any subgroup (14.2%). For persons not overweight at baseline (men, 2760; women, 4295), the incidence of becoming overweight was similar in both sexes and was highest in those aged 35 to 44 years (men, 16.3%; women, 13.5%). We conclude that obesity prevention should begin among adults in their early 20s and that special emphasis is needed for young women who are already overweight.