2025/02/12
Keio University
National Health Insurance Association
A research group from Keio University has clarified trends in height, weight, and BMI (an indicator of obesity) from fiscal year 2015 to 2020. The group includes Professor Emeritus Fuminori Katsukawa, former researcher Naoki Uemura, and visiting researcher Yuki Nishida (affiliated with Tokyo University of Science) from the Sports Medicine Research Center, along with Professor Keita Yamauchi from the Faculty of Nursing and Medical Care and the Graduate School of Health Management. The study utilized data from 8.15 million men and women aged 35 to 69 enrolled in the Kyokai Kenpo (National Health Insurance Association). An analysis of 14 cohorts, categorized by sex and age, revealed that BMI increased across all age groups for both men and women. For men aged 65 and over, while weight tended to decrease, a reduction in height led to an overall increase in BMI. Furthermore, a comparison between cohorts indicated that later-born generations were heavier at the same age, suggesting that the prevalence of obesity is likely to rise in the future. The primary subjects of this study belong to generations born after the 1960s, when dietary habits became increasingly Westernized, and the findings contribute to a better understanding of obesity trends among modern Japanese people.
The research group also includes Professor Kunihiko Takahashi and Associate Professor Tatsuhiko Anzai of Tokyo University of Science, Professor Emeritus Satoshi Sasaki of the University of Tokyo, and Professor Yosuke Yamada of Tohoku University. The research findings were published online on December 18, 2024, in the international scientific journal "International Journal of Obesity."
For the full press release, please see below.