About 41.1 percent of Chinese men were overweight or obese compared with 27.7 percent of Chinese women, according to a research published on the medical journal Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism on Aug 17.

Researchers from the First Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital analyzed data of about 15.8 million eligible participants from 519 Meinian health check-up centers across 243 cities in China.

As per Chinese BMI classification, 34.8 percent of the studied population was overweight and 14.1 percent was obese. The eligible participants were aged 18 or above. And 52.8 percent were male.

Chinese body mass index classification criteria define overweight as BMI 24 to 28 kg/m2 and obesity as BMI at or above 28 kg/m2.

There are several reasons why men are more prone to obesity, with causes usually related to the stress and emotions in life or work, said Wu Xueyan, a professor from the endocrinology department at Peking Union Medical College Hospital.

Long-term excessive stress and negative emotions could lead to the increased secretion of stress hormone - adrenal glucocorticoid, which plays a role in combating insulin and increasing abdominal fat accumulation, according to Wu.

In order to relieve stress and release emotions, men often resort to unhealthy lifestyles such as drinking alcohol and overeating, and long term insufficient or irregular sleep can also lead to male obesity, Wu said.

By region, the proportion of overweight and obesity in the north is generally higher than that in the south, with Inner Mongolia (37.1 percent), Shandong (37.1 percent), and Hebei (36.6 percent) ranking among the top three.

The prevalence of overweight peaked at age 50 to 54 in males and at age 65 to 69 in females. The prevalence of obesity peaked at age 35 to 39 in males and at age 70 to 74 in females.

Number of complications [Photo/dom-pubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com]

When assessed using Chinese BMI classification, participants in higher BMI groups tended to have a greater number of complications.

In the overall population, the most commonly reported complications were fatty liver disease (34.9 percent), prediabetes (27.6 percent), dyslipidaemia (24.9 percent) and hypertension (17.6 percent).

In the overall population, 40.3 percent of participants had no complications, 29.6 percent had one complication, 17.7 percent had two complications, 9.1 percent had three complications and the remainder had four to eight complications.

Due to poor diet and sedentary behavior, the population with metabolic syndrome, characterized by abdominal obesity, has increased significantly in modern times, said Li Buman, deputy director of endocrine immunology department at Tsinghua University Yuquan Hospital.

Metabolic syndrome is a key predictor of type 2 diabetes and a high risk factor of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, Li said. Early detection, evaluation, and intervention are important strategies for preventing obesity-related complications.