Geographic and ethnicity variation in the prevalence of middle‐aged and elderly adult obesity in China in 2020

AIM: The objective of this study is to evaluate the mean body mass index (BMI), general obesity and abdominal obesity in adults aged ≥40 years residing in China in 2020, and to analyse variations in these factors across different geographic areas and subpopulations. METHODS: We utilized data from the National Stroke High-Risk Population Screening programme to calculate and compare the mean BMI and prevalence of obesity across various demographics, including sex, age, urban-rural locality, geographical region (province) and ethnicity status. RESULTS: (95% CI: 24.15-24.45) in women. Using the criteria from China, we found that the standardized prevalence of general obesity and abdominal obesity was 13.13% (95% CI: 13.05-13.21%) and 33.03% (95 CI: 32.92-33.14%), respectively. Our study also identified significant effects of age, sex, urban-rural locality, province and ethnicity status on the prevalence of obesity. Overall, our study estimated that in 2020, approximately 91.1 million adults aged ≥40 years in China were obese (46.5 million men and 44.6 million women), while 229.2 million adults (110.4 million men and 118.8 million women) were diagnosed with abdominal obesity. CONCLUSION: Our research has revealed compelling new evidence about the obesity epidemic among Chinese adults aged ≥40 years, particularly at the provincial and ethnic levels. As a result, more targeted and effective prevention strategies should be developed to alleviate the burden of obesity.