Table 1.
Descriptive statistics of women and men aged 20–49 years from the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES III: 1988–1994 and 2007–2010), the Health Survey for England (HSE 1992–1993 and 2008–2009), the Mexican Nutrition Survey (MSN 1999) and the Mexican National Health and Nutrition Survey (NHNS 2012), and the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS 1993 and 2011)*
| US NHANES | 1988–94 | 2007–10 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Non-Hispanic Whites | ||||
| Sample size by age group | Women | Men | Women | Men |
| Age 20–29 | 443 | 387 | 348 | 337 |
| Age 30–39 | 559 | 440 | 414 | 424 |
| Age 40–49 | 452 | 417 | 462 | 408 |
| Ages 20–49 years | ||||
| Mean BMI (kg/m2) | 25.3 | 26.3 | 27.5 | 28.1 |
| Overweight % (BMI≥25<30) | 19.8 | 38.9 | 26.2 | 36.8 |
| Obese % (BMI≥30) | 19.8 | 16.6 | 28.7 | 31.9 |
| Mean Waist Circumference (cm) | 84.3 | 93.7 | 92.0 | 98.9 |
| Non-Hispanic Blacks | ||||
| Sample size by age group | ||||
| Age 20–29 | 548 | 478 | 177 | 176 |
| Age 30–39 | 595 | 469 | 172 | 159 |
| Age 40–49 | 418 | 339 | 190 | 167 |
| Ages 20–49 years | ||||
| Mean BMI (kg/m2) | 28.3 | 26.4 | 31.8 | 28.6 |
| Overweight % (BMI≥25<30) | 28.4 | 34.9 | 25.0 | 28.7 |
| Obese % (BMI≥30) | 33.5 | 20.3 | 51.7 | 36.1 |
| Mean Waist Circumference (cm) | 90.5 | 90.1 | 99.1 | 95.3 |
| Mexican-Americans | ||||
| Sample size by age group | ||||
| Age 20–29 | 554 | 652 | 180 | 206 |
| Age 30–39 | 474 | 453 | 192 | 164 |
| Age 40–49 | 348 | 367 | 186 | 193 |
| Ages 20–49 years | ||||
| Mean BMI (kg/m2) | 27.8 | 26.6 | 29.3 | 29.0 |
| Overweight % (BMI≥25<30) | 31.5 | 42.7 | 31.8 | 45.0 |
| Obese % (BMI≥30) | 32.0 | 18.5 | 40.7 | 34.7 |
| Mean Waist Circumference (cm) | 89.4 | 92.0 | 95.3 | 99.0 |
| England HSE | 1992–93 | 2008–09 | ||
| Sample size by age group | Women | Men | Women | Men |
| Age 20–29 | 2841 | 2636 | 1090 | 858 |
| Age 30–39 | 3308 | 3059 | 1487 | 1155 |
| Age 40–49 | 3059 | 2801 | 1811 | 1469 |
| Ages 20–49 years | ||||
| Mean BMI (kg/m2) | 25.0 | 25.7 | 26.4 | 27.0 |
| Overweight % (BMI≥25<30) | 26.9 | 42.3 | 29.8 | 42.4 |
| Obese % (BMI≥30) | 13.6 | 11.7 | 22.1 | 21.6 |
| Mean Waist Circumference (cm) | 79.3 | 91.4 | 84.6 | 95.0 |
| Mexico† MSN and NHNS | 1999 | 2012 | ||
| Sample size by age group | Women | Women | ||
| Age 20–29 | 4975 | 3788 | ||
| Age 30–39 | 4478 | 5293 | ||
| Age 40–49 | 3077 | 4673 | ||
| Ages 20–49 years | ||||
| Mean BMI (kg/m2) | 27.0 | 28.5 | ||
| Overweight % (BMI≥25<30) | 36.5 | 35.0 | ||
| Obese %(BMI≥30) | 25.0 | 35.8 | ||
| Mean Waist Circumference (cm) | 81.1 | 90.8 | ||
| China CHNS | 1993 | 2011 | ||
| Sample size by age group | Women | Men | Women | Men |
| Age 20–29 | 853 | 834 | 569 | 503 |
| Age 30–39 | 998 | 826 | 967 | 786 |
| Age 40–49 | 825 | 769 | 1506 | 1347 |
| Ages 20–49 years | ||||
| Mean BMI (kg/m2) | 21.9 | 21.6 | 23.2 | 24.0 |
| Overweight % (BMI≥25<30) | 12.9 | 9.1 | 22.6 | 31.0 |
| Obese % (BMI≥30) | 0.7 | 0.4 | 4.6 | 5.2 |
| Chinese standard Obese % (BMI≥28) | 2.4 | 1.4 | 8.7 | 12.1 |
| Mean Waist Circumference (cm) | 73.9 | 76.0 | 79.3 | 86.1 |
Weighted to be nationally representative for Mexico, the United States, and England.
Data on men not available for Mexico
Source: China: The China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS, 1993 and 2011)24; England: The Health Survey for England (HSE), 1992–93 and 2008–920; United States: The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III-1988–94 and the combined NHANES 2007–8 plus 2009–10)19; Mexico: The Mexican Nutrition Survey 1999 (MSN 1999) and the Mexican National Health and Nutrition Survey 2012 (NHNS 2012)25, 26.