Comparison of weight status among two cohorts of US Air Force recruits

Walker S C Poston; Christopher Keith Haddock; Alan L Peterson; Mark W Vander Weg; Robert C Klesges; Megan M Pinkston; Margaret DeBon

doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2004.09.006

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Comparison of weight status among two cohorts of US Air Force recruits

Journal article

Peer reviewed

Comparison of weight status among two cohorts of US Air Force recruits

Walker S C Poston, Christopher Keith Haddock, Alan L Peterson, Mark W Vander Weg, Robert C Klesges, Megan M Pinkston and Margaret DeBon

Preventive medicine, Vol.40(5), pp.602-609

05/2005

DOI: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2004.09.006

PMID: 15749145

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Abstract

Overweight and obesity are increasing rapidly in the US and the Department of Defense (DoD). We examined whether weight trends evidenced in the general population and DoD are occurring among individuals entering US Air Force (USAF) Basic Military Training (BMT). Individuals entering the USAF in 1996 (AF1996; N = 29,036) and 2000 (AF2000; N = 31,080), ages 17-29 years were surveyed. The two recruit cohorts were compared to age-matched individuals from the 1996 (N = 22,153) and 2000 (N = 31,861) Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Survey (BRFSS). Crude rates for all age groups and age- and gender-standardized prevalence rates reflected significant increases in overweight/obesity among recruits. The direct standardized prevalence of overweight/obesity increased nearly 24%, from 14.8% in AF1996 to 18.3% in AF2000. The increase in overweight/obesity was particularly large among male recruits ages 25-29 (i.e., from 36.4% to 44.5%) between 1996 and 2000. USAF cohorts were less likely to be overweight than corresponding BRFSS samples. There were 19.1 and 20.2 percentage point differences between overall crude rates of overweight/obesity between AF1996 and BRFSS 1996 and AF2000 and BRFSS 2000, respectively. Nevertheless, overall rates of overweight and obesity are increasing among young recruits in the USAF at a fairly marked rate (approximately one percentage point per year).

Age Factors

Humans

Male

Obesity - physiopathology

Health Behavior

Smoking Cessation - methods

Smoking Prevention

Military Personnel - statistics & numerical data

Obesity - prevention & control

Adolescent

Sex Factors

Adult

Female

Surveys and Questionnaires

Body Weight - physiology

Cohort Studies

Details

Title: Subtitle: Comparison of weight status among two cohorts of US Air Force recruits
Creators: Walker S C Poston - Health Research Group, Mid America Heart Institute and University of Missouri-Kansas City, 4825 Troost, Suite 124, Kansas City, MO 64110, USA. postonwa@umkc.edu
Christopher Keith Haddock
Alan L Peterson
Mark W Vander Weg
Robert C Klesges
Megan M Pinkston
Margaret DeBon
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Preventive medicine, Vol.40(5), pp.602-609
DOI: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2004.09.006
PMID: 15749145
NLM abbreviation: Prev Med
ISSN: 0091-7435
eISSN: 1096-0260
Publisher: United States
Grant note: HL53478 / NHLBI NIH HHS
Language: English
Date published: 05/2005
Academic Unit: Psychological and Brain Sciences; Injury Prevention Research Center; Community and Behavioral Health; Internal Medicine
Record Identifier: 9984064187202771

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