AMONG ADULTS IN FINLAND FROM 1982 TO 1997

Marjaana Lahti-Koski, Pirjo Pietinen, Satu Mannist and Erkki Vartiainen,

National Public Health Institute, Mannerheimintie 166, 00300 Helsinki, Finland

The weight and height of Finnish adults have been monitored in eastern Finland since 1972. Population surveys have been carried out every fifth year to assess the levels of cardiovascular disease risk factors, including body mass index (BMI). Based on these surveys, the mean BMI increased in men from 1972 to 1992. This upward trend was strongest in men older than 40 years of age. In women, BMI decreased from 1972 to 1982, and then seemed to level off, but the upward trend continued among poorly educated women. The aim of this study was to investigate if these trends have continued until 1997 when the monitoring has been extended also to southwestern Finland. In this study, the data on the latest four surveys carried out in 1982, 1987, 1992 and 1997 were analysed. From 4 400 to 9 300 adults aged 25-64 years participated in each survey. The mean BMI increased in both genders: from 26.3 kg/m² to 27.0 kg/m² in men, and from 25.8 kg/m² to 26.2 kg/m² in women. In men the upward trend was greatest in the oldest age group (55-64 years), and was found also in the youngest age group (25-34 years), while in women the upward trend was most prominent in the youngest age group. BMI increased in all educational groups in men, but in women the upward trend seemed to be greatest in the lowest educational group. In 1997, 48% of men were overweight (BMI=25-30 kg/m²) and 19% were obese (BMI >30 kg/m²), while in women these proportions were 32% and 19%. We conclude that the mean BMI increased significantly among adults in Finland from 1982 to 1997. The strongest upward trend in BMI was found in the oldest men, and in the youngest age group in both genders. Education is still a strong determinant of obesity especially in women, although the social gradient in BMI has not widened in the 1990's.

In: Mykkänen H, ed. 15-year anniversary symposium of the department of clinical nutrition and the spring meetings of the Finnish Society for Nutrition Research and the Finnish Association for Study of Obesity. Abstracts. Kuopio University Publications D. Medical Sciences 171, Kuopio 1999:14.