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Neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage modifies the relationship between weight status and weight-related satisfaction

International Journal of Obesity volume 40, pages 1922–1926 (2016)Cite this article

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Abstract

Are adults living in disadvantaged communities less likely to recognize or be dissatisfied with being overweight than their counterparts in more affluent areas? Multilevel logistic regression was used to analyze a cross-sectional sample of 10 880 people aged 15 years or older selected from the 2009 wave of the ‘Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia’. Outcome variables included whether participants perceived themselves as ‘overweight’ or not, and their self-reported (dis)satisfaction with their weight. Key covariates included: (i) actual weight status, derived from the World Health Organization (WHO) criteria for ‘normal’, ‘overweight’ and ‘obese’ intervals of body mass index, on the basis of self-reported height and weight; and (ii) the Socio-Economic Index For Areas, an indicator of neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage defined for Census Collection Districts. Data were analyzed in 2015. In more disadvantaged neighborhoods, self-classification as overweight or obese tended to be higher, but dissatisfaction with current weight appeared to be lower. For people who by WHO criteria are of ‘normal’ weight, 16.8% (95% CI 15.6, 17.9) felt dissatisfied with their weight and 11.5% (95% CI 10.5, 12.5) classified themselves as overweight or obese. For people classified as overweight or obese by these criteria, the level of dissatisfaction and perceived overweight or obese status were much higher. Overweight and obese participants in affluent areas were more likely to be dissatisfied and consider themselves overweight or obese in comparison with their peers living in disadvantaged areas. Interventions aiming to prevent weight gain and to narrow socioeconomic inequity in overweight must reconcile with the findings that people in disadvantaged communities are less likely to recognize their overweight or be dissatisfied with their weight status.

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Acknowledgements

This paper uses unit record data from the HILDA Survey. The HILDA Project was initiated and is funded by the Australian Government Department of Social Services (DSS), and is managed by the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research (Melbourne Institute). The findings and views reported in this paper, however, are those of the authors and should not be attributed to either the DSS or the Melbourne Institute. The Australian Prevention Partnership Centre is funded by the NHMRC, the Australian, NSW and ACT health departments, and the HCF Health and Medical Research Foundation.

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The study design, analysis, interpretation of the data, writing the report and decision to submit the report for publication are of the authors only.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Health and Society, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia

    X Feng

  2. Early Start Research Institute, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia

    X Feng

  3. Menzies Centre for Health Policy, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

    X Feng & A Wilson

  4. The Australian Prevention Partnership Centre, The Sax Institute, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

    A Wilson

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  1. X Feng
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Correspondence to X Feng.

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Feng, X., Wilson, A. Neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage modifies the relationship between weight status and weight-related satisfaction. Int J Obes 40, 1922–1926 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2016.120

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