OBJECTIVETo describe the epidemiological characteristics of overweight and obesity among people aged 18 and over in Guangdong province in 2002, and to identify the populations and regions under high risk.

METHODSCross-sectional survey was used through sampling on multi-stage randomized clusters. Data of socialeconomic status were collected by face-to-face interview. Data on weight and height was obtained through physical check-ups.

RESULTSA sample size of 15 130 people and the mean body mass index (BMI) was 22.03 +/- 3.38 with no significant difference between males and females. However the significant difference was seen between cities and rural areas. The crude prevalence rate of overweight and obesity were 16.8% and 1.8%, and the age-adjusted rate were 15.0% and 1.7%, respectively. The crude rate of overweight in cities (24.8%) and males (17.5%) were higher than that in rural areas (9.4%) and females (16.2%). The crude rate of obesity in cities was seen higher than that in the rural areas, but not significantly different between females and males. The results of logistic regression analysis showed that the major risk factors influencing overweight would include household income, age, gender, smoking habits, physical exercises and location of residence.

CONCLUSIONAbout one sixth of the citizens in Guangdong province were considered to be overweighted and obesive had become an important public health problem. Integrated measures must be taken for prevention and control.