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Social and dietary determinants of body mass index of adult Jamaicans of African origin

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 57, pages 621–627 (2003)Cite this article

Abstract

Objectives: To determine the relationships between body mass index (BMI) and diet, social and behavioural factors among adult Jamaicans of African origin.

Design: Cross-sectional.

Setting: Urban communities in Jamaica, West Indies.

Subjects: Three-hundred and sixty-three males and 561 females of African origin, aged 25–74 y.

Results: Women had higher mean BMIs (27.5±6.4 kg/m2) than men (23.4±4.3 kg/m2); 30.7% of women compared with 6.7% of men were obese. There was a tendency for obese men to have higher percentage of intakes from fat and less from carbohydrate, and women reported diets in which the percentage contribution of protein increased significantly with increasing BMI. In multivariate analyses, BMI was not explained by energy but was associated with protein intakes in females only. Predictors of relative weight were inversely related. Social (marital status) and behavioural (cigarette smoking) factors predicted BMI in both genders; older age in men and increased fibre intakes in women were associated with lower BMI.

Conclusions: Social and behavioural factors are important determinants of body weight. Further investigations are needed which consider factors such as physical activity, genetic and other environmental variables as predictors of relative weight.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Community Health and Psychiatry, University of the West Indies, Kingston, West Indies, Jamaica

    M Jackson

  2. Tropical Medicine Research Institute, University of the West Indies, Kingston, West Indies, Jamaica

    S Walker, T Forrester & R Wilks

  3. Clinical Epidemiology Unit, Manchester University Medical School, Manchester, UK

    J K Cruickshank

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  1. M Jackson
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  2. S Walker
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  3. T Forrester
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  4. J K Cruickshank
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  5. R Wilks
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Guarantor: M Jackson

Contributors: Contributions to the manuscript were as follows: All authors contributed to the design of the study and preparation of the manuscript. MJ and RW were responsible for the execution of the study, and MJ and SW for the statitical analyses

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Correspondence to M Jackson.

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Jackson, M., Walker, S., Forrester, T. et al. Social and dietary determinants of body mass index of adult Jamaicans of African origin. Eur J Clin Nutr 57, 621–627 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1601584

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1601584

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