Healthy Behaviors and Incidence of Overweight and Obesity in Military Veterans
Abstract
Research suggests that U.S. veterans have a higher prevalence of obesity than nonveterans and that weight gain is particularly high around the time of military discharge. Despite an established link between individual behaviors and weight gain, few studies have assessed the joint effects of lifestyle factors on obesity risk. Among 11,025 participants with baseline BMI of 18.5-24.9 kg/m2, those reporting 5 or 6 healthy behaviors had a 36 lower incidence of overweight compared with those reporting zero or one healthy behavior (RR=0.64; 95 CI=0.54, 0.74). Among 17,583 participants with baseline BMI of 25.0-29.9 kg/m2, obesity risk was 38 lower for those with at least 5 healthy behaviors relative to those with zero or one healthy behavior (RR=0.62; 95 CI=0.54, 0.72). These findings indicate that adherence to multiple healthy behaviors is associated with substantially reduced rates of overweight and obesity. Interventions targeting several health behaviors may be more effective than more narrow interventions in reducing obesity among military veterans.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 11, 2019
- Accession Number
- AD1105996
Entities
People
- Alyson J. Littman
- Ben Porter
- Deborah B. Bookwalter
- Edward J. Boyko
- Isabel Gomez Jacobson
- Rudolph P. Rull
- So Y. Kong
Organizations
- Naval Health Research Center