Obesity is a major public health problem and is a risk factor for
hypertension, diabetes, heart disease and cancer. In addition, the prevalence of
obesity appears to be increasing worldwide, making it important to determine
the nature and extent of obesity in populations at risk. The aim of this study
was to determine the predictors of body mass index (BMI) in Taiwanese adults
19 through 44 years old. Independent variables from the Nutrition and Health
Survey in Taiwan (NAHSIT) included biological factors (age and sex), dietary
factors (energy intake and fat intake), environmental factors (educational level,
residence area, and nutrition knowledge), and lifestyle factors (leisure time
physical activity, smoking habits, and alcohol consumption). Results indicated
that nearly 40% of the 1,182 adult survey participants were obese or
overweight, by Taiwanese standards. Regression analysis found that significant
predictors of BMI were residence area, educational level, and age. Taiwanese
adults more likely to have higher BMIs were from the mountainous area, had
less education. An increase in ten years of age was related to an average
increase in BMI of 1.13 kg/m�� (p<0.0001), controlling for other variables.
These three factors accounted for 21% of the variance in all adults (15% of the
variance in men, and 28% of the variance in women). In addition, smoking was
a predictor of higher BMI in males, and alcohol intake was a predictor for
higher BMI in females. Energy intake, fat intake, leisure time physical activity,
and nutrition knowledge were not significant predictors for either males or
females. The findings from this study will help public health professionals
identify target areas and program needs to reduce obesity in Taiwan,
particularly in the mountainous areas where the prevalence of
obesity/overweight was seventy percent. / Graduation date: 2004
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ORGSU/oai:ir.library.oregonstate.edu:1957/30606 |
| Date | 05 June 2003 |
| Creators | Lai, I-Ju |
| Contributors | Chi, Chuhuei |
| Source Sets | Oregon State University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
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