Measures of excess body weight and anthropometry among adult Albertans: cross-sectional results from Alberta’s tomorrow project cohort

BACKGROUND: Excess body weight during adulthood has been consistently associated with all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease, and cancer at multiple sites among other chronic diseases. We describe the prevalence of excess body weight and abdominal obesity reported by participants enrolled in Alberta’s Tomorrow Project (ATP). METHODS: ATP is a geographically-based cohort study conducted among adults aged 35–69 years from across the province of Alberta. Participants completed anthropometric measures and health and lifestyle questionnaires at enrolment. Overweight and obese were categorized as a body mass index (BMI) of 25.0–29.9 kg/m(2) and ≥30 kg/m(2), respectively. Abdominal obesity was categorized using cut-offs of waist circumference of >94 cm for men and >80 cm for women and waist-tp-hip ratio cut-offs of >0.90 for men and >0.85 for women. RESULTS: BMI and hip and waist circumference data were obtained from 12,062 men and 18,853 women enrolled between 2001 and 2009. Overall, 76.8% of men and 59.5% of women reported a BMI ≥25 kg/m(2). The proportions of overweight and obese were significantly higher in older age groups (p < 0.001). In addition, the proportion of participants reporting being overweight and obese was higher among lower education (p < 0.001) and lower income groups (p < 0.001). Overall, approximately two thirds of men and women in ATP cohort reported abdominal obesity. Overweight, obesity and abdominal obesity were all associated with a history of several cardiometabolic chronic conditions including hypertension, heart attack, angina, high cholesterol, stroke and diabetes. CONCLUSION: A large majority of ATP participants were overweight and carried excess abdominal fat. Strategies to improve energy balance among Albertans are encouraged and may have a notable impact on future chronic disease burden. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s12889-017-4887-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.