1. ¹Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, CB# 8120, University Square, 123 West Franklin St Chapel Hill, NC 27516-2524, USA
2. ²Department of Preventive Medicine and Epidemiology, Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood, IL, USA
3. ³Tropical Metabolism Research Institute, University of the West Indies, Kingston 10, Jamaica

Correspondence: RS Cooper, Department of Preventive Medicine and Epidemiology, Loyola University Medical Center, 2160 S First Avenue, Maywood, IL 60153, USA

Received 13 December 2002; Revised 24 June 2003; Accepted 13 July 2003; Published online 10 February 2004.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: This study compares how income is related to obesity vs two obesity-related cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors—diabetes and hypertension—in adults from Jamaica.

DESIGN: A cross-sectional population-based survey was used. In total, 847 men and 1249 women aged 25–74 y were randomly recruited from a periurban area in 1993–1998.

MEASUREMENTS: Trained interviewers measured anthropometry and blood pressure, obtained fasting blood and collected self-reported data on income and disease history.

RESULTS: Income was strongly and positively associated with obesity in men. In women, obesity levels were high even among the very poor, and the income gradient was more moderate. Although obesity—and particularly central fatness—was strongly associated with diabetes and hypertension prevalence, income was not significantly related to these disorders.

CONCLUSIONS: Future research in developing countries should independently explore associations between income and obesity vs obesity-related disorders, and identify factors that explain any disparities.