Acta Anthropologica Sinica ›› 2026, Vol. 45 ›› Issue (05): 912-925.doi: 10.16359/j.1000-3193/AAS.2025.0114

• Research Articles • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Obesity rate and its regional distribution characteristics in the Chinese population

LI Yonglan1,2(), HAN Yuan2, ZHANG Xinghua3, YU Keli3, BAO Jinping4, ZHENG Lianbin3()   

  1. 1 College of Life Science and Technology, Inner Mongolia Normal University, Hohhot 010022
    2 Key Laboratory of Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Utilization of the Mongolian Plateau in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region’s Institutions of Higher Learning, Hohhot 010022
    3 College of Life Sciences, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Conservation and Utilization of Animal Diversity, Tianjin 300387
    4 College of Physical Education, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin 300387
  • Received:2025-03-14 Revised:2025-08-08 Online:2026-10-15 Published:2026-10-16

Abstract:

In this study, the weight, height, and waist circumference of 69549 Chinese individuals (32152 males and 37397 females) were measured, and their Is and Irvalues were calculated. The results showed that the Isvalues of Chinese males and females were 0.802±0.058 and 0.800±0.106, respectively, indicating that the Is values were close between the two genders. For Ir values, males scored 3.746±1.175 while females scored 4.194±1.530, with females showing significantly higher values than males.

With the increase of age, both Is and Irvalues of the Chinese population present an upward trend. Correlation analysis revealed a significant positive correlation between Ir and Is. Moreover, Is and Ir are closely associated with blood pressure: an increase in Is and Ir values will lead to elevated blood pressure and heart rate in Chinese people.

It was found that the Is and Ir values of the systolic hypertensive population were significantly higher than those of the non-hypertensive population. Overall, regional variations in Isand Irexist among the Chinese population. For both Chinese males and females, Isshowed significant positive correlations with longitude, age, precipitation, per capita disposable income, and per capita consumption expenditure. Similarly, Ir exhibited significant positive correlations with latitude, age, sunshine duration,per capita disposable income, and per capita consumption expenditure, while showing significant negative correlations with annual average temperature and precipitation.

Preliminary estimates indicate that among individuals with Im≥ 24 kg/m² (BMI, denoted as Im in this study), those with an Ir value of 4.241 for males and 5.086 for females are at risk of obesity. This study employed a comprehensive obesity assessment method, revealing that the obesity rate in China is 27.3% for men and 21.7% for women, with the male obesity rate being higher than that of females. Additionally, a regression analysis between Ir and latitude was conducted, resulting in a regression equation describing the relationship between latitude and Ir.

Key words: Chinese population, body roundness index, hypertension, obesity

CLC Number: