Obesity and socioeconomic status in developing countries: a systematic review

Abstract

Summary We undertook a systematic review of studies assessing the association between socioeconomic status (SES) and measured obesity in low‐ and middle‐income countries (defined by the World Bank as countries with per capita income up to US$12,275) among children, men and women. The evidence on the subject has grown significantly since an earlier influential review was published in 2004. We find that in low‐income countries or in countries with low human development index (HDI), the association between SES and obesity appears to be positive for both men and women: the more affluent and/or those with higher educational attainment tend to be more likely to be obese. However, in middle‐income countries or in countries with medium HDI, the association becomes largely mixed for men and mainly negative for women. This particular shift appears to occur at an even lower level of per capita income than suggested by an influential earlier review. By contrast, obesity in children appears to be predominantly a problem of the rich in low‐ and middle‐income countries.

Shown for reading. Its publisher allows quoting it, not republishing it.

References 66

1. 1.

   Wang Y, Beydoun MA. The obesity epidemic in the United States – gender, age, socioeconomic, racial/ethnic, and geographic characteristics: a systematic review and meta-regression analysis. Epidemiol Rev. 2007;29:6-28.

   Not in our library10.1093/epirev/mxm007

2. 2.

   Sobal J, Stunkard AJ. Socioeconomic status and obesity: a review of the literature. Psychol Bull. 1989;105:260-275.

   Not in our library10.1037/0033-2909.105.2.260

3. 3.

   McLaren L. Socioeconomic status and obesity. Epidemiol Rev. 2007;29:29-48.

   Not in our library10.1093/epirev/mxm001

4. 4.

   Monteiro CA, Moura EC, Conde WL, Popkin BM. Socioeconomic status and obesity in adult populations of developing countries: a review. Bull World Health Organ. 2004;82:940-946.

   Not in our library

5. 5.

   2010.

   Not in our library

6. 6.
   Overweight and obesity in urban Africa: A problem of the rich or the poor? · 2009

   No notice
7. 7.

   Kim SA, Yount KM, Ramakrishnan U, Martorell R. The relationship between parity and overweight varies with household wealth and national development. Int J Epidemiol. 2007;36:93-101.

   Not in our library10.1093/ije/dyl252

8. 8.

   Bovet P, Chiolero A, Shamlaye C, Paccaud F. Prevalence of overweight in the Seychelles: 15 year trends and association with socio-economic status. Obes Rev. 2008;9:511-517.

   Not in our library10.1111/j.1467-789x.2008.00513.x

9. 9.

   Nguyen MD, Beresford SA, Drewnowski A. Trends in overweight by socio-economic status in Vietnam: 1992 to 2002. Public Health Nutr. 2007;10:115-121.

   Not in our library10.1017/s1368980007224085

10. 10.

    Mendez MA, Cooper RS, Luke A, Wilks R, Bennett F, Forrester T. Higher income is more strongly associated with obesity than with obesity-related metabolic disorders in Jamaican adults. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2004;28:543-550.

    Not in our library10.1038/sj.ijo.0802584

11. 11.

    Marins VM, Almeida RM, Pereira RA, Sichieri R. The association between socioeconomic indicators and cardiovascular disease risk factors in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. J Biosoc Sci. 2007;39:221-229.

    Not in our library10.1017/s0021932006001246

12. 12.

    Hou X, Jia W, Bao Y, et al. Risk factors for overweight and obesity, and changes in body mass index of Chinese adults in Shanghai. BMC Public Health. 2008;8:389.

    Not in our library10.1186/1471-2458-8-389

13. 13.

    Fezeu L, Minkoulou E, Balkau B, et al. Association between socioeconomic status and adiposity in urban Cameroon. Int J Epidemiol. 2006;35:105-111.

    Not in our library10.1093/ije/dyi214

14. 14.

    Pikhart H, Bobak M, Malyutina S, Pajak A, Kubinova R, Marmot M. Obesity and education in three countries of the Central and Eastern Europe: the HAPIEE study. Cent Eur J Public Health. 2007;15:140-142.

    Not in our library10.21101/cejph.a3452

15. 15.

    Fernald LC. Socio-economic status and body mass index in low-income Mexican adults. Soc Sci Med. 2007;64:2030-2042.

    Not in our library10.1016/j.socscimed.2007.02.002

16. 16.

    Ouedraogo HZ, Fournet F, Martin-Prevel Y, Gary J, Henry MC, Salem G. Socio-spatial disparities of obesity among adults in the urban setting of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Public Health Nutr. 2008;11:1280-1287.

    Not in our library10.1017/s1368980008002504

17. 17.

    Hajian-Tilaki KO, Heidari B. Association of educational level with risk of obesity and abdominal obesity in Iranian adults. J Public Health (Oxf). 2010;32:202-209.

    Not in our library10.1093/pubmed/fdp083

18. 18.

    Case A, Menendez A. Sex differences in obesity rates in poor countries: evidence from South Africa. Econ Hum Biol. 2009;7:271-282.

    Not in our library10.1016/j.ehb.2009.07.002

19. 19.

    Valeggia CR, Burke KM, Fernandez-Duque E. Nutritional status and socioeconomic change among Toba and Wichi populations of the Argentinean Chaco. Econ Hum Biol. 2010;8:100-110.

    Not in our library10.1016/j.ehb.2009.11.001

20. 20.

    Ivanova L, Dimitrov P, Dellava J, Hoffman D. Prevalence of obesity and overweight among urban adults in Bulgaria. Public Health Nutr. 2008;11:1407-1410.

    Not in our library10.1017/s1368980008002061

21. 21.

    Gigante DP, Minten GC, Horta BL, Barros FC, Victora CG. Nutritional evaluation follow-up of the 1982 birth cohort, Pelotas, Southern Brazil. Rev Saude Publica. 2008;42(Suppl. 2):60-69.

    Not in our library10.1590/s0034-89102008000900009

22. 22.

    Hoang VM, Byass P, Dao LH, Nguyen TK, Wall S. Risk factors for chronic disease among rural Vietnamese adults and the association of these factors with sociodemographic variables: findings from the WHO STEPS survey in rural Vietnam, 2005. Prev Chronic Dis. 2007;4:A22.

    Not in our library

23. 23.

    Dastgiri S, Mahdavi R, TuTunchi H, Faramarzi E. Prevalence of obesity, food choices and socio-economic status: a cross-sectional study in the north-west of Iran. Public Health Nutr. 2006;9:996-1000.

    Not in our library10.1017/s1368980006009827

24. 24.

    Dahly DL, Gordon-Larsen P, Popkin BM, Kaufman JS, Adair LS. Associations between multiple indicators of socioeconomic status and obesity in young adult Filipinos vary by gender, urbanicity, and indicator used. J Nutr. 2010;140:366-370.

    Not in our library10.3945/jn.109.114207

25. 25.

    Kavikondala S, Schooling CM, Jiang CQ, et al. Pathways to obesity in a developing population: the Guangzhou Biobank Cohort Study. Int J Epidemiol. 2009;38:72-82.

    Not in our library10.1093/ije/dyn221

26. 26.

    Nematy M, Sakhdari A, Ahmadi-Moghaddam P, et al. Prevalence of obesity and its association with socioeconomic factors in elderly Iranians from Razavi-Khorasan province. Scientific World Journal. 2009;9:1286-1293.

    Not in our library10.1100/tsw.2009.139

27. 27.
    Obesity and cardio-metabolic risk factors in urban adults of Benin: Relationship with socio-economic status, urbanisation, and lifestyle patterns · 2008

    No notice
28. 28.

    Addo J, Smeeth L, Leon DA. Obesity in urban civil servants in Ghana: association with pre-adult wealth and adult socio-economic status. Public Health. 2009;123:365-370.

    Not in our library10.1016/j.puhe.2009.02.003

29. 29.

    Colchero MA, Bishai D. Effect of neighborhood exposures on changes in weight among women in Cebu, Philippines (1983–2002). Am J Epidemiol. 2008;167:615-623.

    Not in our library10.1093/aje/kwm340

30. 30.

    Perez-Cueto FJ, Kolsteren PW. Changes in the nutritional status of Bolivian women 1994–1998: demographic and social predictors. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2004;58:660-666.

    Not in our library10.1038/sj.ejcn.1601862

31. 31.

    Subramanian SV, Smith GD. Patterns, distribution, and determinants of under- and overnutrition: a population-based study of women in India. Am J Clin Nutr. 2006;84:633-640.

    Not in our library10.1093/ajcn/84.3.633

32. 32.

    Chee HL, Kandiah M, Khalid M, et al. Body mass index and factors related to overweight among women workers in electronic factories in Peninsular Malaysia. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr. 2004;13:248-254.

    Not in our library

33. 33.

    Shafique S, Akhter N, Stallkamp G, de Pee S, Panagides D, Bloem MW. Trends of under- and overweight among rural and urban poor women indicate the double burden of malnutrition in Bangladesh. Int J Epidemiol. 2007;36:449-457.

    Not in our library10.1093/ije/dyl306

34. 34.

    Khan MM, Kraemer A. Factors associated with being underweight, overweight and obese among ever-married non-pregnant urban women in Bangladesh. Singapore Med J. 2009;50:804-813.

    Not in our library

35. 35.

    Shahraki M, Shahraki T, Ansari H. The effects of socio-economic status on BMI, waist hip ratio and waist circumference in a group of Iranian women. Public Health Nutr. 2008;11:757-761.

    Not in our library10.1017/s1368980007001577

36. 36.

    Balarajan Y, Villamor E. Nationally representative surveys show recent increases in the prevalence of overweight and obesity among women of reproductive age in Bangladesh, Nepal, and India. J Nutr. 2009;139:2139-2144.

    Not in our library10.3945/jn.109.112029

37. 37.

    Friedman LS, Lukyanova EM, Serdiuk A, et al. Social-environmental factors associated with elevated body mass index in a Ukrainian cohort of children. Int J Pediatr Obes. 2009;4:81-90.

    Not in our library10.1080/17477160802449264

38. 38.

    Griffiths PL, Rousham EK, Norris SA, Pettifor JM, Cameron N. Socio-economic status and body composition outcomes in urban South African children. Arch Dis Child. 2008;93:862-867.

    Not in our library10.1136/adc.2006.112649

39. 39.

    Wickramasinghe VP, Lamabadusuriya SP, Atapattu N, Sathyadas G, Kuruparanantha S, Karunarathne P. Nutritional status of schoolchildren in an urban area of Sri Lanka. Ceylon Med J. 2004;49:114-118.

    Not in our library10.4038/cmj.v49i4.1920

40. 40.

    Laxmaiah A, Nagalla B, Vijayaraghavan K, Nair M. Factors affecting prevalence of overweight among 12- to 17-year-old urban adolescents in Hyderabad, India. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2007;15:1384-1390.

    Not in our library10.1038/oby.2007.165

Cited by papers we hold 18

• Race/color inequality and nutritional status of children beneficiary from the Bolsa Família Program in the state of Maranhão and in Brazil · 2021
  Not checked
• Adverse Childhood Experiences and Subsequent Chronic Diseases Among Middle-aged or Older Adults in China and Associations With Demographic and Socioeconomic Characteristics · 2021
  No notice
• Interaction between the place of residence and wealth on the risk of overweight and obesity in Bangladeshi women. · 2020
  Not checked
• Socio-economic inequalities in high blood pressure and additional risk factors for cardiovascular disease among older individuals in Colombia: Results from a nationally representative study. · 2020
  Not checked
• Associations between socioeconomic resources and adiposity traits in adults: Evidence from Samoa · 2020
  Not checked
• Association of frequency of television watching with overweight and obesity among women of reproductive age in India: Evidence from a nationally representative study. · 2019
  Not checked
• Correlates and Determinants of Cardiorespiratory Fitness in Adults: a Systematic Review · 2019
  No notice
• What is driving global obesity trends? Globalization or “modernization”? · 2019
  No notice
• The overweight and obesity transition from the wealthy to the poor in low- and middle-income countries: A survey of household data from 103 countries · 2019
  No notice
• IMPORTANCE OF SPORTS ACTIVITIES FOR OBESE YOUTH IN SOCIALIZATION PROCESS · 2018
  Not checked
• The Gradual Shift of Overweight, Obesity, and Abdominal Obesity Towards the Poor in a Multi-ethnic Developing Country: Findings From the Malaysian National Health and Morbidity Surveys · 2018
  Not checked
• Grocery store interventions to change food purchasing behaviors: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials · 2018
  No notice
• Economic Burden of Obesity: A Systematic Literature Review · 2017
  No notice
• Prevalence of Obesity Among Adults, by Household Income and Education — United States, 2011–2014 · 2017
  No notice
• Socio-economic status over the life course and obesity: Systematic review and meta-analysis · 2017
  No notice
• Prevalence, risk factors and disability associated with fall-related injury in older adults in low- and middle-incomecountries: results from the WHO Study on global AGEing and adult health (SAGE) · 2015
  No notice
• Overweight and obesity among women: analysis of demographic and health survey data from 32 Sub-Saharan African Countries · 2015
  No notice
• The impact of multimorbidity on adult physical and mental health in low- and middle-income countries: what does the study on global ageing and adult health (SAGE) reveal? · 2015
  No notice

Reads

A person counts once a day per paper. We keep no cookie and no address: a reader is a hash that changes every day. Any month under five reads shows no number.