Abstract
Objectives:
To investigate the association between body mass index (BMI) and the risk of nonfatal body injury.
Methods:
We analyzed data from 113 203 adults who participated in the Canadian Community Health Survey conducted in 2009–2010. Log-binomial models were used to estimate crude and adjusted relative risks of the association between BMI and the risk of body injury for men and women.
Results:
Of 113 203 adult participants, 15 194 had self-reported body injuries during the past 12 months, with a 12-month cumulative incidence of 13.7% (weighted to Canadian population). There was a significant interaction between gender and BMI in relation to the risk of body injury, and therefore, analyses were stratified by gender. For women, we found a significant association between BMI and an increased risk of body injury. Women with an increased BMI had a significant increased risk of body injuries as compared with those with normal weight (adjusted relative risk: 1.13, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.02–1.25 for BMI 30.0–34.9 kg m−2; 1.17, 95% CI=1.00–1.37 for BMI 35.0–39.9 kg m−2; 1.41, 95% CI=1.16–1.69 for BMI⩾40 kg m−2). A reduced risk of injury was observed in underweight women. There was no significant association between BMI and the risk of body injury for men. Obese persons of both gender were more likely to suffer injuries to the knee and lower leg, and in less demanding activities such as household chores or using the stairs.
Conclusions:
We therefore conclude that increased BMI may be a risk factor for body injury in women, but not in men.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$259.00 per year
only $21.58 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Canadian Institute for Health Information, Public Health Agency of Canada. Canadian Institute for Health Information, Public Health Agency of Canada. Obesity in Canada: A Joint Report From the Public Health Agency of Canada and the Canadian Institute for Health Information. 2011, Public Health Agency of Canada: Canada.
Wang Y, Beydoun MA . The obesity epidemic in the United States–gender, age, socioeconomic, racial/ethnic, and geographic characteristics: a systematic review and meta-regression analysis. Epidemiol Rev 2007; 29: 6–28.
Sassi F, Devaux M, Cecchini M, Rusticelli E . The Obesity Epidemic : Analysis of Past and Projected Future Trends in Selected OECD Countries. 2009, OECD Publishing: Paris, France.
Kopelman P . Health risks associated with overweight and obesity. Obes Rev 2007; 8(Suppl 1): 13–17.
Nguyen NT, Magno CP, Lane KT, Hinojosa MW, Lane JS . Association of hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, and metabolic syndrome with obesity: findings from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1999 to 2004. J Am Coll Surg 2008; 207: 928–934.
Zhu S, Kim J-E, Ma X, Shih A, Laud PW, Pintar F et al. BMI and risk of serious upper body injury following motor vehicle crashes: concordance of real-world and computer-simulated observations. PLoS Med 2010; 7: e1000250.
Arlinghaus A, Lombardi DA, Willetts JL, Folkard S, Christiani DC . A structural equation modeling approach to fatigue-related risk factors for occupational injury. Am J Epidemiol 2012; 176: 597–607.
Kuehl KS, Kisbu-Sakarya Y, Elliot DL, Moe EL, Defrancesco CA, Mackinnon DP et al. Body mass index as a predictor of firefighter injury and workers’ compensation claims. J Occup Environ Med 2012; 54: 579–582.
Grundstrom AC, Guse CE, Layde PM . Risk factors for falls and fall-related injuries in adults 85 years of age and older. Arch Gerontol Geriatr 2012; 54: 421–428.
Xiang H, Smith GA, Wilkins JR, Chen G, Hostetler SG, Stallones L . Obesity and risk of nonfatal unintentional injuries. Am J Prev Med 2005; 29: 41–45.
Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS). Annual component User Guide 2010 and 2009–2010. Ottawa; 2011.
Waist Circumference and Waist-Hip Ratio Report of a WHO Expert Consultation. Geneva; 2011, p 8–11.
Cherpitel CJ . Alcohol and injuries: a review of international emergency room studies since 1995. Drug Alcohol Rev 2007; 26: 201–214.
Jarvis S, Towner E . Action on injury. Setting the agenda for children and young people in the UK. Inj Prev 1998; 4: S7–S9.
Boulanger BR, Milzman D, Mitchell K, Rodriguez A . Body habitus as a predictor of injury pattern after blunt trauma. J Trauma 1992; 33: 228–232.
Alexander CS, Somerfield MR, Ensminger ME, Kim YJ, Johnson KE . Gender differences in injuries among rural youth. Inj Prev 1995; 1: 15–20.
McQuillan R, Campbell H . Gender differences in adolescent injury characteristics: a population-based study of hospital A&E data. Public Health 2006; 120: 732–741.
Diener-Martin E, Bruegger O, Martin B . Physical activity promotion and safety prevention: what is the relationship in different population groups? Br J Sports Med 2011; 45: 332–333.
Grotle M, Hagen KB, Natvig B, Dahl F a, Kvien TK . Obesity and osteoarthritis in knee, hip and/or hand: an epidemiological study in the general population with 10 years follow-up. BMC Musculoskelet Disord 2008; 9: 132.
Zhang J, Yu KF . What’s the relative risk? A method of correcting the odds ratio in cohort studies of common outcomes. JAMA 1998; 280: 1690–1691.
Murray CL, Walsh GW, Connor Gorber S . A comparison between Atlantic Canadian and national correction equations to improve the accuracy of self-reported obesity estimates in Atlantic Canada. J Obes 2012; 2012: 492410.
Rice TM, Zhu M . Driver obesity and the risk of fatal injury during traffic collisions. Emerg Med J. 2014; 31: 9–12.
Brown CVR, Neville AL, Rhee P, Salim A, Velmahos GC, Demetriades D . The Impact of obesity on the outcomes of 1153 critically injured blunt trauma patients. J Trauma Inj Infect Crit Care 2005; 2: 1048–1051.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Additional information
Supplementary Information accompanies this paper on International Journal of Obesity website
Supplementary information
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Chassé, M., Fergusson, D. & Chen, Y. Body mass index and the risk of injury in adults: a cross-sectional study. Int J Obes 38, 1403–1409 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2014.28
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2014.28
Keywords
This article is cited by
-
Contact Breast Injuries Among Female Athletes: A Systematic Review
Sports Medicine (2024)
-
Sex-specific association between obesity and self-reported falls and injuries among community-dwelling Canadians aged 65 years and older
Osteoporosis International (2017)
-
U-shaped association of body mass index in early adulthood with unintentional mortality from injuries: a cohort study of Swedish men with 35 years of follow-up
International Journal of Obesity (2016)