Overweight and Risk of Noncommunicable Diseases in Adulthood: An Analysis of NHANES IV 2015–2016

Abstract

Background Worldwide, overweight is one of the main risk factors for Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs). In this scenario, Body Mass Index (BMI) is the main tool to assess nutritional status of the adult population. Aim To analyze the association between overweight and the risk of developing type 2 diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) and/or high blood pressure (HBP) during adulthood. Subjects and methods We used data of subjects aged between 30–64 years old from the United States National Survey of Health and Nutrition Examination (2015–2016). We calculated the risk of developing T2DM and/or HBP in adulthood using a Log-Binomial Regression model. We included sampling weights in our analysis and we adjusted it for confounding factors. Results We evaluated a total of 2,666 individuals. Overweight affected around 38% of the sample when they were 25 years old and around 70% during the interview. We found 4 factors (overweight, smoking, sedentary lifestyle, and age) that were positively associated with the development of T2DM and/or HBP. Long-term overweight more than doubles the risk of developing these diseases [RR = 2.44; 95%CI: 1.92–3.09]. Conclusion The incidence of T2DM and/or HBP were positively associated with the overweight in adulthood. These results suggest that the prevention of overweight could decrease NCDs prevalence into adulthood.