Obesity, diet, and poverty: trends in the Russian transition to market economy

Objective: To examine trends in macronutrient intake, overweight, and obesity. Design: Cross-sectional samples-collected nine times between 1992 and 2000-from the Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey provide interviewer-administered 24-h diet recalls and measured height and weight, together with detailed information regarding income and expenditures. Setting: The Russian Federation. Subjects: Women and men, aged 19-55 y. Interventions: None. Methods: A nationally representative sample of working-age Russian adults was stratified by gender and income (per cent of regional poverty level). Secular trends in mean energy and macronutrient intake, as well as prevalence of overweight and obesity in the population are described over the first 8 y of the Russian Federation. Results: Overall, energy intake increased slightly. Fat, as a percentage of energy (E%), decreased from 39.6 to 31.6% and protein, as a per cent of energy, decreased from 14.3 to 12.5%. Overweight (determined by body mass index (BMI) greater than or equal to25 kg/m(2)) prevalence remained relatively stable at about 50% and obesity (BMI greater than or equal to30 kg/m(2)) prevalence increased from 13.3 to 16.0% of the adult population. Women consumed less energy than men and displayed higher prevalences of overweight and obesity in all time periods. There was an income effect among men in all time periods, with higher-income men consuming more calories, fat, and protein than lower-income men; this effect was not apparent in women except in the proportion of fat and protein intake. Conclusions: The adult Russian population appears to have escaped macronutrient privation during economic reform and has experienced increasing rates of obesity.