TABLE I.
Age-standardized baseline characteristics (1986) of study cohort according to weight change from 1986 to 1988
| Characteristic | Weight change 1986–1988 |
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss > 4 kg | Loss 1.1–4 kg | Stable ± 1 kg | Gain 1.1–4 kg | Gain 4.1–7 kg | Gain >7 kg | |
| Participants, n | 2,861 | 7,347 | 17,090 | 11,097 | 3,035 | 868 |
| Mean age (years) | 55.8 | 55.4 | 54.8 | 53.2 | 52.5 | 51.7 |
| Alcohol intake (g/day) | 11.4 | 11.2 | 11.4 | 11.6 | 11.7 | 10.6 |
| Past and current smoker (%) | 45.6 | 41.8 | 40.0 | 42.5 | 43.1 | 50.0 |
| Mean body mass index (kg/m2) | 27.9 | 25.7 | 24.9 | 25.3 | 26.1 | 26.8 |
| Mean waist circumference (cm) | 98.1 | 93.7 | 92.5 | 94.6 | 98.6 | 104.0 |
| Mean physical activity (METS/week)1 | 16.3 | 20.8 | 22.2 | 21.3 | 19.1 | 21.2 |
| Regular use of aspirin (%) | 30.6 | 29.9 | 28.6 | 29.6 | 30.2 | 29.2 |
| Multivitamin use (%) | 38.9 | 41.5 | 41.9 | 41.6 | 41.3 | 42.2 |
| Colonoscopy (%)2 | 13.7 | 12.2 | 11.9 | 11.5 | 13.9 | 13.7 |
| Sigmoidoscopy (%)2 | 58.9 | 50.6 | 52.0 | 48.3 | 54.3 | 54.4 |
| Colon polyps diagnosis 1980–86 (%) | 1.7 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 2.2 | 1.6 |
| Family history of colorectal cancer (%) | 7.8 | 8.4 | 8.7 | 8.4 | 8.9 | 10.1 |
| Mean daily intakes | ||||||
| Folate (µg/day) | 468 | 476 | 481 | 481 | 478 | 501 |
| Methionine (gm/day) | 2.21 | 2.16 | 2.17 | 2.18 | 2.24 | 2.31 |
| Vitamin D (IU/day) | 390 | 402 | 406 | 406 | 413 | 439 |
| Calcium (mg/day) | 890 | 901 | 895 | 901 | 900 | 944 |
| Red meat (servings/day) | 1.24 | 1.16 | 1.10 | 1.13 | 1.18 | 1.26 |
| Processed meat (servings/day) | 0.19 | 0.18 | 0.17 | 0.17 | 0.18 | 0.19 |
1
MET-hours, sum of average time/week spent in each activity times MET value of each activity.
2
Information on colonoscopy and sigmoidoscopy was collected in 1988.