ABSTRACT
The objective of this study was to measure change in obesity prevalence among New York City (NYC) adults from 2004 to 2013–2014 and assess varia- tion across sociodemographic subgroups. We used objec- tively measured height and weight data from the NYC Health and Nutrition Examination Survey to calculate relative percent change in obesity (≥ 30 kg/m2) between 2004 (n =1987) and 2013–2014 (n =1489) among all NYC adults and sociodemographic subgroups. We also examined changes in self-reported proxies for energy im- balance. Estimates were age-standardized and statistical significance was evaluated using two-tailed T tests and multivariable regression (p < 0.05). Between 2004 and 2013–2014, obesity increased from 27.5 to 32.4% (p = 0.01). Prevalence remained stable and high among women (31.2 to 32.8%, p = 0.53), but increased among men (23.4 to 32.0%, p = 0.002), especially among non-Latino White men and men age ≥ 65 years. Black adults had the highest prevalence in 2013–2014 (37.1%) and Asian adults expe- rienced the largest increase (20.1 to 29.2%, p = 0.06), especially Asian women. Foreign-born participants and participants lacking health insurance also had large in- creases in obesity. We observed increases in eating out and screen time over time and no improvements in phys- ical activity. Our findings show increases in obesity in NYC in the past decade, with important sociodemographic differences.