Obesity and Related Factors in Middle-aged Adults in Chung-Hsing Village, Taiwan

Abstract

Background. For this study, we used data collected in Chung-Hsing Village, Taiwan in May 1998 to evaluate the relationship between obesity and the related factors in middle-aged adults. Methods. Employees working for the Taiwan Provincial Government in Chung-Hsing Village, Taiwan between the ages of 40 and 64years were the candidates for this study. Only 707 volunteers completed the necessary blood tests. To determine which factors were significantly related to obesity, t-test, chi-squared analysis, and multivariate logistic regression were used. Results. Forty percent of the subjects were men and 60.0% were women. The mean age was 50.5±6.8 years. The mean values of body mass index were 24.7±2.8 kg/m2 in men and 23.7±3.1 kg/m2 in women (p ＜ 0.01). The prevalence of obesity was 11.0% in men and 8.7% in women (p ＞0.05). After controlling the covariates, the multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the significant factors of obesity were high systolic pressure and hyperuricemia. Conclusions. The prevalence of obesity was high in middle-aged adults in Chung-Hsing Village, Taiwan. It may be important to check blood pressure and serum uric acid levels simultaneously in middle-aged obese adults.