Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

Which aspects of socioeconomic status are related to obesity among men and women?

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the relationships between body weight and fat distribution, and four empirically derived domains of socioeconomic status: employment, housing, migration status and family unit.

DESIGN: A population-based study was used.

PARTICIPANTS: A total of 8667 randomly-selected adults (4167 men; 4500 women) who participated in the 1995 Australian National Health and Nutrition Surveys provided data on a range of health factors including objective height, weight and body fat distribution, and a range of sociodemographic indicators.

RESULTS: Results demonstrated associations for women, after controlling for age, between the employment domain, and body mass index and waist-to-hip ratio. Low status employed women were 1.4 times as likely to be overweight as high status employed women. There were less consistent relationships observed among these factors for men. Relationships between family unit and indicators of body weight and body fat distribution were observed for both men and women, with those who were married, particularly men (OR=1.6, 95% CI 1.4–2.0), at higher risk of overweight. The migration and housing socioeconomic status domains were not consistently associated with body mass index or waist-to-hip ratio.

CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate that different components of socioeconomic status may be important in predicting obesity, and thus should be examined separately. Future research would benefit from investigating the underlying mechanisms governing the relationships between socioeconomic status domains further, particularly those related to employment and family unit and obesity.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. Sobal J, Stunkard AJ . Socioeconomic status and obesity: a review of the literature Psych Bull 1989 105: 260–275.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Jeffery RW, Folsom AR, Leupker RV, Jacobs DR, Gillum RF, Taylor HL, Blackburn H et al. . Prevalence of overweight and weight loss behavior in a metropolitan adult population: the Minnesota Heart Survey experience Am J Public Health 1984 74: 349–352.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Jeffery RW, French SA, Forster JL, Spry VM . Socioeconomic status differences in health behaviours related to obesity: the Healthy Worker Project Int J Obes 1991 15: 689–696.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Power C, Moynihan C . Social class changes and weight-for-height between childhood and early adulthood Int J Obes 1988 12: 445–453.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Rosmond R, Bjorntorp P . Psychosocial and socio-economic factors in women and their relationship to obesity and regional body fat distribution Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 1999 23: 138–145.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Simons LA, Simons J, Magnus P, Bennett SA . Education level and coronary risk factors in Australia Med J Aust 1986 145: 446–450.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Wamala SP, Wolk A, Orth-Gomer K . Determinants of obesity in relation to socioeconomic status among middle-aged Swedish women Prev Med 1997 26: 734–744.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Bennet SA . Cardiovascular risk factors in Australia: trends in socioeconomic inequalities J Epidemiol Community Health 1985 45: 363–372.

    Google Scholar 

  9. Flegal KM, Harlan WR, Landis JR . Secular trends in body mass index factors in young adult women Am J Clin Nutr 1988 48: 535–543.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Flegal KM, Harlan WR, Landis JR . Secular trends in body mass index factors in young adult men Am J Clin Nutr 1988 48: 544–551.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Opit LJ, Oliver G, Salzberg M . Occupation and blood pressure Med J Aust 1984 140: 760–764.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Ross G, Mirowski J . Social epidemiology of overweight: a substantive and methodological investigation J Health Soc Behav 1983 24: 288–298.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Sorenson TIA . Socio-econornic aspects of obesity: causes or effects? Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 1995 19(Suppl 6): S6–S8.

    Google Scholar 

  14. Braddon FE, Rogers B, Wadsworth ME, Davies J . Onset of obesity in a 36 y birth cohort study Br Med J 1986 293: 299–303.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Lahmann PH, Lissner L, Gullberg B, Berglund G . Sociodemographic factors associated with long-term weight gain, current body fatness and central adiposity in Swedish women Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 2000 24: 685–694.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Molarius A, Seidell JC, Sans S, Tuomilehto J, Kuulasmaa K . Educational level relative body weight, and changes in their association over 10 y: an international perspective from the WHO MONICA Project Am J Public Health 2000 90: 1260–1268.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Larsson B, Svardsudd K, Welin L, Wilhelmsen L, Bjorntorp P, Tibblin G . Abdominal adipose tissue distribution, obesity, and risk of cardiovascular disease and death: 13 y follow up of participants in the study of men born in 1913 Br Med J 1984 288: 1401–1404.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Bruning PF, Bonfrer JMG, Hart AAM, van Noord PAH, van der Hoeven H, Collette HJA, Battermann JJ, De Jong-Bakker M, Nooijen WJ, De Waard F . Body measurements, estrogen availability and the risk of human breast cancer: a case–control study Int J Cancer 1992 51: 14–19.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Rosmond R, Lapidus L, Bjorntorp P . The influence of occupational and social factors on obesity and body fat distribution in middle-aged men Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 1996 20: 599–607.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Sobal J . Obesity and socioeconomic status: a framework for examining relationships between physical and social variables Med Anthropol 1991 13: 231–247.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Australian Bureau of Statistics . National Nutrition Survey: user's guide, 1995, Catalogue no. 4801.0 Australian Bureau of Statistics: Canberra 1998.

  22. Australian Bureau of Statistics . National Health Survey: user's guide, Catalogue no. 4363.0 Australian Bureau of Statistics: Canberra 1995.

  23. National Health and Medical Research Council . Acting on Australia's weight: a strategic plan for the prevention of overweight and obesity. Australian Government Publishing Service: Canberra 1997.

  24. Alexander H, Dugdale AE . Which waist–hip ratio? Med J Aust 1990 153: 367–368.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Ball MJ, Wilson BD, Robertson IK, Russell DG . Obesity and body fat distribution in New Zealanders: a pattern of coronary heart disease risk NZ Med J 1993 106: 69–72.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Mishra GD, Ball K, Dobson AJ, Byles JE, Warner-Smith P . The measurement of socioeconomic status: investigation of gender- and age-specific indicators in Australia: National Health Survey ‘95 Social Indicators Res 2001 56: 73–89.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. SAS Institute Inc . SAS/STAT user's guide, Version 6, 4th edn, Vol 2 SAS Institute Inc.: Cary NC 1989.

  28. Neter J, Kutner MH, Nachtsheim CJ, Wasserman W . Applied linear statistical model. Irwin: Chicago, IL 1996.

  29. Martikainen P, Stansfeld S, Hemingway H, Marmot M . Determinants of socioeconomic differences in change in physical and mental functioning Soc Sci Med 1999 49: 499–507.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Ostrove JM, Adler NE . Socioeconomic status and health Curr Opin Psychiat 1998 11: 649–653.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Gortmaker SL, Must A, Perrin JM, Sobal AM, Dietz WH . Social economic consequences of overweight in adolescence and young adulthood New Engl J Med 1993 329: 1008–1012.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. Crespo CJ, Ainsworth BE, Keteyian SJ, Heath GW, Smit E . Prevalence of physical inactivity and its relation to social class in U.S. adults: results from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1988–1994 Med Sci Sports Exerc 1999 31: 1821–1827.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  33. Milligan RAK, Burke V, Beilin U, Dunbar DL . Influence of gender and socioeconomic status on dietary patterns and nutrient intakes in 18-year old Australians Aust NZ J Public Health 1998 22: 485–493.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

Kylie Ball is supported by a Public Health Postdoctoral Research Fellowship from the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council. David Crawford is supported by a Nutrition Research Fellowship from the National Heart Foundation of Australia.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to K Ball.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Ball, K., Mishra, G. & Crawford, D. Which aspects of socioeconomic status are related to obesity among men and women?. Int J Obes 26, 559–565 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0801960

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0801960

Keywords

This article is cited by

Search

Quick links