Overweight and Obesity among New Urban Migrants in Chengdu and Kunming

Objective To determine the prevalence of overweight and obesity in new urban migrants. Methods A questionnaire survey was conducted on 21 651 urban residents in the downtown and surrounding urban areas of Kunming and Chengdu selected through a multi-stage stratified cluster sampling method. Factors associated with overweight and obesity were identified using Chi-square tests and multivariate logistic regression models. Results 11 626 people were enrolled. The new urban migrants (n=7 555) had 31.2% overweight and 6.7% obesity, compared with 24.9% and 4.3%, respectively, in the urban residents(n=4 071). Gender, age, educational, marital status and alcohol consumption were associated with overweight and obesity in the new urban migrants. Gender, age, education and alcohol consumption were predictors of overweight and obesity of the urban residents. Conclusion Urban new immigrants are more likely to be overweight and obese than urban residents, although predictors for overweight and obesity remain similar.