Epidemiological studies have reported an inconsistent association between obesity and ovarian cancer. To update the current knowledge of and further qualify the association between overweight, obesity and ovarian cancer risk, we conducted a meta-analysis of published observational studies. Using the PubMed, MEDLINE and EMBASE databases, we performed a literature search of all of the case–control and cohort studies published as original articles in English before March 2015. We included 26 observational studies, of which 13 were case–control studies (7782 cases and 21 854 controls) and 13 were cohort studies (5181 cases). Fixed- and random-effects models were used to compute summary estimates and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals. Subgroup analyses were also performed. The pooled relative risk for overweight and obesity compared with normal weight (body mass index = 18.5–24.9 kg/m²) was 1.07 (95% confidence interval: 1.02–1.12) and 1.28 (95% confidence interval: 1.16–1.41), respectively. In subgroup analyses, we found that overweight/obesity increased the risk of ovarian cancer in most groups, except for the postmenopausal group (overweight: pooled relative risk = 0.97, 95% confidence interval: 0.76–1.24; obesity: pooled relative risk = 0.93, 95% confidence interval: 0.61–1.42). There was no evidence of publication bias. Increased body weight was associated with an increased risk of ovarian cancer; in particular, severe obesity demonstrated a stronger risk effect. No statistically significant association was observed in the postmenopausal period, but was in the premenopausal period.

The prevalence of abdominal obesity is increasing dramatically worldwide. This study aimed to estimate the current prevalence of abdominal obesity from the 2011 China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) and compare the data with other countries. Waist circumference (WC) of 12,326 Chinese adults (aged 20 years or older) from the 2011 CHNS were analyzed by age group and region. Abdominal obesity was defined as a WC ≥90 cm for men and WC ≥80 cm for women based on World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations for Asians. In 2011, the age-adjusted mean WC was 85.9 cm (95% confidence interval [CI], 85.6-86.2 cm) for men and 80.7 cm (95% CI, 80.4-80.9 cm) for women. Based on the WHO recommendations, the age-adjusted prevalence of abdominal obesity was 44.0% (95% CI, 43.1%-44.8%) overall, 35.3% (95% CI, 34.1%-36.6%) in men, and 51.7% (95% CI, 50.5%-52.9%) in women. Moreover, the age-adjusted prevalence was 44.0% (95% CI, 42.7%-45.2%) in rural populations, 42.5% (95% CI, 40.7%-44.2%) in urban populations, and 45.2% (95% CI, 43.5%-46.9%) in megacity populations. The prevalence in China (35.3% for men and 51.7% for women) was lower than in Japan (50.8% for men) and the United States (43.5% for men and 64.7% for women). Similar results were observed when applying the criteria suggested by the Working Group on Obesity in China. In 2011, the age-adjusted prevalence of abdominal obesity in China was 35.3% in men and 51.7% in women.

Background This study aims to estimate the current prevalence and trends of hypertension subtypes among Chinese adults from 1991 to 2011. Methods We analysed the measurements of systolic and diastolic blood pressure among adults aged ≥18 years from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) 1991–2011. The prevalence was age-adjusted to the 2010 census of Chinese adults. Results The adjusted prevalence in 2011 was 20.9% (95% CI 20.2% to 21.6%) of hypertension, 3.30% (95% CI 2.99% to 3.62%) of isolated systolic hypertension, 4.44% (95% CI 4.08% to 4.80%) of isolated diastolic hypertension, 4.11% (95% CI 3.76% to 4.46%) of systolic–diastolic hypertension and 9.01% (95% CI 8.51% to 9.51%) of current use of antihypertensive medication, respectively. From 1991 to 2011, the prevalence increased from 15.6% to 20.9% for hypertension (p<0.001) and from 3.04% to 3.30% for isolated systolic hypertension (p<0.001). However, the prevalence decreased from 4.77% to 4.44% for isolated diastolic hypertension (p=0.023) and from 5.27% to 4.11% for systolic–diastolic hypertension (p<0.001). Consistent with these findings, the percentage of current use of antihypertensive medication increased from 2.55% to 9.01%, which accounted for approximately 43.1% of the total number of cases in 2011. Importantly, only 36.9% (equivalent to 17.5% of the total number of hypertensive people) of cases of current use of antihypertensive medication were adequately controlled. Conclusions Both the prevalence of hypertension and the percentage of current use of antihypertensive medication significantly increased from 1991 to 2011. Currently, about one-fifth of Chinese adults are hypertensive; however, only 17.5% of hypertension is controlled.

The effects of macronutrient intake on obesity are controversial. This research aims to investigate the associations between macronutrient intake and new-onset overweight/obesity. The relationship between the consumption of carbohydrate and total fat and obesity was assessed by the multivariable Cox model in this 11-year cohort, which included 6612 adults (3291 men and 3321 women) who were free of overweight and obesity at baseline. The dietary intake was recorded using a 24-h recall method for three consecutive days. Moreover, substitution models were developed to distinguish the effects of macronutrient composition alteration from energy intake modification. During 7·5 person years (interquartile range 4·3, 10·8) of follow-up, 1807 participants became overweight or obese. After adjusting for risk factors, the hazard ratio (HR) of overweight/obesity in extreme quintiles of fat was 1·48 (quintile 5 v. quintile 1, 95 % CI 1·16, 1·89; P_trend = 0·02) in women. Additionally, replacing 5 % of energy from carbohydrate with equivalent energy from fat was associated with an estimated 4·3 % (HR 1·043, 95 % CI 1·007, 1·081) increase in overweight/obesity in women. Moreover, dietary carbohydrate was inversely associated with overweight/obesity (quintile 5 v. quintile 1, HR 0·70, 95 % CI 0·55, 0·89; P_trend = 0·02) in women. Total fat was related to a higher risk of overweight/obesity, whereas high carbohydrate intake was related to a lower risk of overweight/obesity in women, which was not observed in men.