Table 1. Characteristics of the analytic sample (n = 2568) by categories of 10-years weight change, the 1946 British birth cohort study.
| Weight change between 43 and 53y | ||||||
| −5 Kg or more | −4.9 to −2 kg | −2.1 to 2 Kg | 2.1 to 5 Kg | 5.1 Kg or more | ||
| Sample size | 125 (4.9) | 168 (6.5) | 500 (19.5) | 540 (21.1) | 1235 (48.1) | |
| Sex, % | 0.007 | |||||
| Women | 48.0 | 47.1 | 48.2 | 46.9 | 54.8 | |
| Men | 52.0 | 52.9 | 51.8 | 53.1 | 45.2 | |
| Education, % | 0.115 | |||||
| Higher | 5.6 | 9.5 | 10.0 | 11.3 | 9.15 | |
| Advanced secondary | 17.6 | 17.3 | 24.0 | 27.8 | 25.8 | |
| Ordinary secondary | 30.4 | 22.1 | 24.4 | 21.7 | 24.2 | |
| Vocational | 42.4 | 44.6 | 37.2 | 34.6 | 36.0 | |
| No qualification | 4.0 | 6.6 | 4.4 | 4.6 | 4.8 | |
| SEP, % | <0.001 | |||||
| I & II | 28.0 | 31.5 | 43.8 | 48.5 | 43.9 | |
| III non-manual | 20.8 | 19.1 | 21.0 | 21.3 | 25.5 | |
| III manual | 29.6 | 22.6 | 18.8 | 18.3 | 15.1 | |
| IV & V | 21.6 | 26.8 | 16.4 | 11.8 | 15.6 | |
| Smoking habit, % | <0.001 | |||||
| No smoker | 55.2 | 63.1 | 68.4 | 74.6 | 69.0 | |
| Smoke once (either 43 or 53y) | 12.0 | 7.1 | 8.0 | 7.4 | 14.2 | |
| Smoker | 32.8 | 29.7 | 23.6 | 18.0 | 16.8 | |
| Physical act. level at 43y, % | 0.003 | |||||
| None | 67.2 | 51.2 | 50.8 | 44.6 | 51.9 | |
| 1–4 times a month | 9.6 | 13.1 | 15.2 | 17.0 | 15.2 | |
| 4+ times a month | 23.2 | 35.2 | 34.0 | 38.0 | 32.8 | |
| Physical act. level at 53y, % | 0.024 | |||||
| None | 60.0 | 52.4 | 46.8 | 44.7 | 49.4 | |
| 1–4 times a month | 10.4 | 17.7 | 16.6 | 18.3 | 18.8 | |
| 4+ times a month | 29.6 | 30.4 | 36.6 | 37.4 | 31.7 | |
| Health at 43years, % | ||||||
| Angina | 0.8 | 3.0 | 1.2 | 1.9 | 1.5 | 0.482 |
| Stroke | 1.6 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.102 |
| Hypertension | 10.4 | 6.0 | 7.2 | 5.4 | 5.5 | 0.172 |
| Lung function FEV1, mean (sd) | 2.85 (0.8) | 2.89 (0.7) | 3.00 (0.7) | 3.05 (0.7) | 3.02 (0.7) | 0.014 |
| Health at 53years, % | ||||||
| Recently felt ill | 46.4 | 37.5 | 34.2 | 30.9 | 36.0 | 0.016 |
| Diabetes | 8.0 | 6.5 | 4.0 | 1.5 | 1.7 | <0.001 |
| Had cancer in the past 10y | 4.0 | 4.2 | 2.4 | 2.0 | 3.6 | 0.1316 |
| Thyroid disorders in the past 10y | 6.4 | 4.2 | 5.4 | 2.6 | 4.7 | 0.148 |
| Liver disease in the past 10y | 2.4 | 2.4 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 1.1 | 0.029 |
| Had recent major surgery | 3.2 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 0.013 |
| Weight (Kg) at 43y, mean (sd) | 81.4 (16.9) | 74.6 (14.6) | 71.0 (12.9) | 70.6 (12.6) | 72.6 (13.6) | <0.001 |
| Weight (Kg) at 53y, mean (sd) | 71.1 (15.4) | 71.3 (14.6) | 71.4 (12.8) | 74.2 (12.6) | 82.8 (15.0) | <0.001 |
| BMI (Kg/m2) at 43y, mean (sd) | 29.0 (6.2) | 26.0 (4.4) | 24.9 (3.7) | 24.6 (3.5) | 25.5 (4.1) | <0.001 |
| BMI (Kg/m2) at 53y, mean (sd) | 25.5 (5.6) | 25.2 (4.6) | 25.3 (3.8) | 26.1 (3.5) | 29.4 (4.8) | <0.001 |
P values for the difference across weight change categories calculated with ANOVA (for continuous variables) and χ2 tests (for categorical variables).