Veranderingen in leefstijl- en risicofactoren voor chronische ziekten met het ouder worden: De Doetinchem Studie 1987-2002

Men and women in their thirties are more often overweight than eleven years ago. In a five-year period, 1998-2002, one out of every two men and one out of every three women aged 30-39 years were found to be overweight (Body Mass Index (BMI) = 25 kg/m2). Eleven years before, one out of three men and one out of four women aged 30-39 years were overweight. This period or cohort effect is seen in all age-groups: i.e. in each subsequent '10-year generation' overweight becomes more prevalent. When we compare men and women who are now in their thirties with themselves eleven years earlier (when they were in their twenties), 'only' one out of four men and one out of seven women appear to be overweight. Lower educated men and women are more often overweight than men and women with a higher education. Our results emphasize the importance of preventing overweight in the young, and suggest a further increase in overweight for middle-aged and elderly persons in the future. These are some of the results of the Doetinchem Study, a longitudinal study on lifestyle, biological risk factors and chronic diseases, in which about 5000 persons were examined in three consecutive five-year periods. Described here are longitudinal changes in smoking, blood pressure, serum cholesterol and BMI, along with the methods and results of the third round of investigation (1998-2002). The results for lifestyle factors (smoking, diet, physical activity), biological risk factors (blood pressure, cholesterol, BMI, lung function) and chronic diseases (e.g. diabetes and COPD) are presented according to age, gender and education