ArticleInternational journal of obesity (2005)2014
Changing distributions of body size and adiposity with age.
Article in International journal of obesity (2005), 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 47 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
47 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 82 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Analysis of Changes in Weight, Waist Circumference, or Both, and All-Cause Mortality in Chinese Adults.JAMA network open · 2022Pooled it
- Systematic review and meta-analysis of the associations between body mass index, prostate cancer, advanced prostate cancer, and prostate-specific antigen.Cancer causes & control : CCC · 2020Pooled it
- Associations of Change in Body Size With All-Cause and Cause-Specific Mortality Among Healthy Older Adults.JAMA network open · 2023Trial
- Trial
- Associations of proteomic age clocks with lifestyle risk factors, incident chronic diseases and mortality in two European cohorts.Nature aging · 2026Article
- Gestational kynurenine metabolites mediate effects of pregnancy adiposity on child negative affect.Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines · 2026Article
- Exploring the impact of collagen-I genetic variants on intestinal structure and gut microbiota in mouse models of osteogenesis imperfecta.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Life-course body shape trajectories and cerebral oxygen metabolism in community-dwelling older adults.GeroScience · 2026Article
- Associations of changes in waist-to-height ratio with all-cause mortality among Chinese older adults: a national cohort study.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Article
- General obesity index or central obesity indicators: which is a better predictor of body fat percentage in the first trimester?BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2025Article
- Indicators of mortality risk in ageing horses.GeroScience · 2025Article
- Associations of proteomic age with mortality and incident chronic diseases in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC).Research square · 2025Article
- Second-trimester anthropometric estimators of cesarean section: the agreement between body roundness index, body mass index, body fat percentage, and waist circumference.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2025Article
- Circulating metabolomic biomarkers of 5-year body weight and composition change in a biracial cohort of community-dwelling older adults.GeroScience · 2025Article
- Prediction the changes of anthropometric indices following a weight-loss diet in overweight and obese women by mathematical models.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- It is worth the weight: obesity and the transition from monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance to multiple myeloma.Blood advances · 2023Review
- Ascorbic acid is associated with favourable hormonal profiles among infertile males.Frontiers in reproductive health · 2023Article
- Prediction of body fat in adolescents: validity of the methods relative fat mass, body adiposity index and body fat index.Eating and weight disorders : EWD · 2022Article
- Body mass index trend and variability in rheumatoid arthritis.Clinical rheumatology · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAdiposity and health risks are better indicated by waist circumference than body mass index (BMI). Patterns of change with age are incompletely documented.
methodsAdults aged 18-92 years in the Scottish and English Health Surveys of 1994-96 and 2008-10 were divided into fifteen 5-year age bands. Sex-specific prevalences of overweight/obesity and of increased/high waist circumference against age were compared using analysis of covariance.
resultsData available for 7932 Scottish and 55 925 English subjects in 1994-96, and for 27 391 Scottish and 30 929 English in 2008-10, showed generally similar patterns of change in the two countries. Prevalences of both elevated BMI and waist circumference rose with age for longer in 2008-10 than in 1994-96, reaching higher peaks at greater ages, particularly among men. Between 1994-96 and 2008-10, maximum prevalences of BMI>30 increased from 25 to 38% (larger increases in men than women), reaching a peak at age 60-70 years in both sexes. This peak prevalence was 5-10 years later than in 1994-96 for men and remained unchanged for women. Between 1994-96 and 2008-10, maximum prevalences of high waist circumference (men>102 cm, women>88 cm) increased from 30 to -70% in both sexes, peaking in 2008-10 at ages 80-85 years (men) and 65-70 years (women). In 2008-10, proportions of adults with 'normal' BMI (18.5-25) fell with age to 15-20% at age 60-70 years (men) and 75 years (women). Among all those with BMI=18.5-25, aged>65 years, the proportions with unhealthily elevated waist circumference were 30 (men>94 cm) and 55% (women>80 cm).
conclusionsAlmost 40% of men and women are now becoming obese. People are growing fatter later in life, with waist circumference rising more persistently than BMI, which may indicate increased loss of muscle mass and sarcopenia in old age. Among older people, few now have 'normal' BMI, and of these up to half have elevated waist circumference, raising questions for the suitability of BMI as a measure of adiposity in this age group.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.