Abstract
BackgroundRecent studies have suggested a possible association between outdoor or indoor temperature and obesity. We aimed to examine whether ambient temperature is associated with the prevalence of obesity or abdominal obesity in the Korean population.MethodsData on anthropometric, socio-demographic, laboratory and lifestyle factors were retrieved from National Health Insurance System data obtained in 2009–2010. Thirty years (1981 to 2010) of meteorological parameters for 71 observation areas were acquired from the Korea Meteorological Administration. Included in this analysis were 124,354 individuals. A body mass index (BMI) ≥ 25 kg/m2 and a waist circumference (WC) ≥ 90 cm (men) or 85 cm (women) were considered to represent obesity and abdominal obesity, respectively.ResultsThe mean annual temperature (MAT) ranged from 6.6°C to 16.6°C, and BMI was positively correlated with MAT (r = 0.0078, P = 0.0065). WC was positively correlated with MAT (r = 0.0165, P < 0.0001) and negatively correlated with the number of days with mean temperature < 0°C (DMT0; r = –0.0129, P = 0.0002). After adjusting for age, sex, smoking status, alcohol consumption, exercise, income, residential area and altitude, the odds ratios (95% CI) for obesity and abdominal obesity in the highest quintile MAT group were 1.045 (1.010, 1.081) and 1.082 (1.042, 1.124), respectively, compared with the lower four quintiles of the MAT group. Similarly, subjects in the area of the lowest quintile of DMT0 had significantly higher odds of abdominal obesity compared with the higher four quintile groups of DMT0.ConclusionThis study finds an association between ambient temperature and prevalence of obesity in the Korean population when controlling for several confounding factors. Adaptive thermogenesis might be a possible explanation for this phenomenon.
Highlights
Excess body weight is an important risk factor for mortality and morbidity causing nearly 3 million deaths every year worldwide [1]
We aimed to examine whether ambient temperature is associated with the prevalence of obesity or abdominal obesity in the Korean population
The mean annual temperature (MAT) ranged from 6.6°C to 16.6°C, and body mass index (BMI) was positively correlated with MAT (r = 0.0078, P = 0.0065)
Summary
Excess body weight is an important risk factor for mortality and morbidity causing nearly 3 million deaths every year worldwide [1]. Higher energy intake and lower energy expenditure owing to unhealthy diets and sedentary lifestyle are major contributors to the increasing prevalence of obesity. Other conditions such as genetic, biological and environmental factors may contribute to this trend [6]. Several investigators have proposed a hypothesis that an increase in indoor temperatures may be one of the factors that has contributed to the current obesity epidemic by negatively affecting energy expenditure [7, 8]. Only a few studies have suggested a possible association between outdoor or indoor temperature and obesity [12,13,14,15,16], and most of the studies are from Western populations. We aimed to examine whether ambient temperature is associated with the prevalence of obesity or abdominal obesity in the Korean population
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