Changes in the distribution of body mass index of white US men, 1890-2000.
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Historical comparative cross-sectional study using historical cohort and modern survey data.
PubMed 15204360 · doi:10.1080/03014460410001663434
What was done
The study described changes in body mass index (BMI) distribution among white non-Hispanic US men aged 40–69 years across the 20th century. Researchers compared age- and year-specific descriptive statistics of BMI between 12,312 randomly drawn Union Army veterans examined between 1890 and 1900 and 4,059 NHANES participants examined between 1976 and 2000.
What was found
Between 1890 and 2000, median BMI of men aged 50–59 years increased by 5.7 kg/m² (25%), while the standard deviation almost doubled, and distribution skewness decreased. Obesity prevalence rose from 3.4% to 35%. Median BMI declined with age in 1890–1894, but by 2000 this pattern reversed. The annual growth rate of median BMI peaked at 0.5% per annum between 1988 and 2000. Increased median BMI explained 75% of the obesity rise, with the remainder attributable to increased distribution variance.
Why it matters
It demonstrates that long-term population obesity increases result from both upward shifts in average BMI and substantial widening of BMI dispersion over a century.
Limits
The study is restricted entirely to white non-Hispanic men aged 40–69. Comparison groups differ in selection mechanisms (veterans vs. general population surveys), and data are absent between 1900 and 1976.
Cited by
- supports In 1890, obesity prevalence in the population was approximately 2% to 3%.