10-Year Weight Gain in 13,802 US Adults: The Role of Age, Sex, and Race

Table 1

Descriptive characteristics of the sample (n = 13,802).

Categorical variable	N	Weighted %	SE
Age (years)
36–39	1347	10.3	0.4
40–49	3415	26.8	0.6
50–59	3425	28.3	0.6
60–69	3578	22.2	0.6
70–79	2037	12.4	0.4
Sex
Men	7108	48.0	0.5
Women	6694	52.0	0.5
Race
Mexican American	1847	7.3	0.8
Other Hispanic	1535	5.7	0.6
Non-Hispanic White	4881	67.6	1.7
Non-Hispanic Black	3274	10.8	0.9
Non-Hispanic Asian	1815	5.3	0.5
Other Race/Multiracial	450	3.3	0.3
Gained 5% or more
No	6846	49.0	0.6
Yes	6956	51.0	0.6
Gained 10% or more
No	8769	64.3	0.6
Yes	5033	35.7	0.6
Gained 20% or more
No	11407	84.0	0.4
Yes	2396	16.0	0.4

N refers to the number of subjects within the category. SE refers to the standard error of the percentage. The variable “Gained 5% or more” indicates that participants gained 5% or more in body weight from the initial period to the body weight assessment taken 10 years later. “Gained 10%” and “Gained 20%” are similarly defined. The weighted % column shows the distribution of subjects after the NHANES sample weights were applied. The weighted % values are more meaningful than the number of subjects (N) because the weighted % values take into account the sample weights and therefore can be generalized to the US adult population.