Smoking, high body weight and physical inactivity assessment in samples of Cretan (Greek) adults over a period of 30 years: 1985-2015

This study aimed to assess time trends in behavioral risk factors (BRFs) for chronic diseases, including smoking, high body weight and physical inactivity among adults.

The study sample comprised 8,052 adults aged 18-99 years from various districts of Crete/Greece, who participated in 24 cross-sectional and longitudinal studies during 1985-2015. A steady questionnaire was used to record health habits and anthropometric measurements, and relationships were evaluated through regression analysis.

Overall, 55% of participants were men with a mean age of 45.2 years. Regarding the three BRFs, 32.6% were smokers, 60.8% were overweight/obese and 55.6% presented physical inactivity. Comparing results between the three decades (1985-1994, 1995-2004 & 2005-2015) a decrease in the prevalence of smoking and physical inactivity (p<0.05) and an increase in high body weight (p<0.001) were found. A significant increase of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (p<0.001) was observed, as physical inactivity was associated with higher odds of high body weight (OR=1.29; p=0.018) in men and, conversely, lower odds in women (OR=0.74; p=0.011). Overall, factors such as increasing age, time frame (1985-1994 vs 2005-2015), occupation and morbidity were associated with higher odds of high body weight, while educational level was associated with lower odds of high body weight (p<0.05).

The decrease observed in the prevalence of smoking and physical inactivity during 1985-2015 in Crete is encouraging. In recent years however, the increase in the prevalence of overweight/obesity is crucial and warrants further investigation to determine the impact of new nutritional patterns over the beneficial Mediterranean diet and inform appropriate public health actions.