Sabanayagam, C;
Shankar, A;
Wong, TY;
Saw, SM;
Foster, PJ;
(2007)
Socioeconomic status and overweight/obesity in an adult chinese population in Singapore.
Journal of Epidemiology
, 17
(5)
161 - 168.
10.2188/jea.17.161.
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Abstract
BACKGROUND: Studies from industrialized Western countries have reported an inverse association between socioeconomic status and overweight/obesity. In contrast, few studies from newly industrialized countries in Asia have examined this association. In this context, we examined the association between socioeconomic status and overweight/obesity by gender in Chinese adults in Singapore.METHODS: A population-based cross sectional study of 942 participants (57.3% women, 40-81 years) residing in the Tanjong Pagar district of Singapore was conducted. Education, income, and housing type were used as socioeconomic status indicators. Main outcome-of-interest was the presence of overweight/obesity (n=313), classified by body mass index as overweight (25- 29.9 kg/m(2)), or obese (>= 30 kg/m(2))RESULTS: The prevalence of overweight/obesity was 33% in men and 34% in women. In men, SES indicators were not associated with overweight/obesity. In women, SES indicators were found to be inversely associated with overweight/obesity. Compared to women with secondary/higher education, the odds ratio (OR) (95% confidence interval [CI]) of overweight/obesity in women with primary/lower education was 2.5 (1.5-4.0). Compared to women earning > Singapore dollar (SGD) 1,000 per month, the OR (95% CI) of overweight/obesity among women earning <= SGD 1,000 was 2.5 (1.4-4.5). Compared to women living in large size public apartments or private houses, the OR (95% CI) of overweight/obesity in women living in small/medium size public apartments was 1.8 (1.2-2.7).CONCLUSIONS: Lower socioeconomic status, defined by education, income, and housing type was associated with overweight/obesity in Chinese Singaporean women.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Socioeconomic status and overweight/obesity in an adult chinese population in Singapore |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.2188/jea.17.161 |
| Publisher version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.2188/jea.17.161 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | The work is published under the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 3.0/). Authors retain ownership of the copyright for their article, but anyone may download, reuse, copy, reprint, distribute, or modify articles published in the Journal, if they cite the original authors and source. |
| Keywords: | Body mass index, overweight, obesity, prevalence, socioeconomic factors, chinese, singapore, body-mass index, weight control practices, disease risk-factors, cardiovascular-disease, united-states, sex-differences, educational-level, social-class, life-style, us adults |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Institute of Ophthalmology UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/141442 |
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