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Prevalence of obesity and overweight and associated nutritional factors in a population-based Swiss sample: an opportunity to analyze the impact of three different European cultural roots

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An Erratum to this article was published on 22 June 2014

Abstract

Purpose

Obesity represents a growing public health concern worldwide. The latest data in Switzerland rely on self-reported body mass index (BMI), leading to underestimation of prevalence. We reassessed the prevalence of obesity and overweight in a sample of the Swiss population using measured BMI and waist circumference (WC) and explored the association with nutritional factors and living in different linguistic-cultural regions.

Methods

Data of 1,505 participants of a cross-sectional population-based survey in the three linguistic regions of Switzerland were analyzed. BMI and WC were measured, and a 24-h urine collection was performed to evaluate dietary sodium, potassium and protein intake.

Results

The prevalence of overweight, obesity and abdominal obesity was 32.2, 14.2 and 33.6 %, respectively. Significant differences were observed in the regional distribution, with a lower prevalence in the Italian-speaking population. Low educational level, current smoking, scarce physical activity and being migrant were associated with an higher prevalence of obesity. Sodium, potassium and protein intake increased significantly across BMI categories.

Conclusions

Obesity and overweight affect almost half of the Swiss adolescents and adults, and the prevalence appears to increase. Using BMI and WC to define obesity led to different prevalences. Differences were furthermore observed across Swiss linguistic-cultural regions, despite a common socio-economic and governmental framework. We found a positive association between obesity and salt intake, with a potential deleterious synergistic effect on cardiovascular risk.

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Acknowledgments

We thank all study participants as well as study nurses and assistants in each center, who made this study possible. The study was funded mainly by the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health (Contracts Nos. 09.004165/404.0101/-2 and 09.005791/414.0000/-74). A contribution by the Swiss Society of Hypertension had also been received. The Nephrology Division and the Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine of Lausanne University Hospital provided further logistic and analytical support. MBO is supported by the Swiss School of Public Health Plus.

Conflict of interest

On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Internal Medicine and Nephrology, Locarno Hospital, Locarno, Switzerland

    Adam Ogna & Luca Gabutti

  2. Service of Nephrology and Hypertension, Lausanne University Hospitals, Lausanne, Switzerland

    Valentina Forni Ogna & Michel Burnier

  3. Community Prevention Unit, University Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine (IUMSP), Lausanne, Switzerland

    Murielle Bochud & Fred Paccaud

Authors
  1. Adam Ogna
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  2. Valentina Forni Ogna
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  3. Murielle Bochud
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  4. Fred Paccaud
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  5. Luca Gabutti
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  6. Michel Burnier
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Adam Ogna.

Additional information

On behalf of the Swiss Survey on Salt Group.

Conen D. (Basel), Hayoz D. (Fribourg), Guessous I. (Genève), Péchère-Bertschi A. (Genève), Erne P. (Luzern), Binet I. (St-Gallen), Muggli F. (Ticino), Gallino A. (Ticino), Meier P. (Valais) and Suter P.M. (Zürich) are the Swiss Survey on Salt Group members.

Adam Ogna and Valentina Forni Ogna are joint first authors.

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Ogna, A., Forni Ogna, V., Bochud, M. et al. Prevalence of obesity and overweight and associated nutritional factors in a population-based Swiss sample: an opportunity to analyze the impact of three different European cultural roots. Eur J Nutr 53, 1281–1290 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-013-0643-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-013-0643-2

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