title: Socioeconomic inequality of obesity in the United States: do gender, age, and ethnicity matter?
abstract: This study introduces the concentration index (CI) to assess socioeconomic inequality in the distribution of obesity among American adults aged 18-60 years old. The CI provides a summary measure of socioeconomic inequality, and enabled comparisons across gender, age, and ethnicity. Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III, 1988-1994 (NHANES III) were used. The degree of socioeconomic inequality in obesity varied considerably across gender, age, and ethnic groups. Among women, we found a stronger, inverse association between socioeconomic status (SES) and obesity compared with men, as well as greater socioeconomic inequality among middle-aged adults (41-49) compared to other age groups. Consistent with previous studies, we found remarkable ethnic differences in the relationship between SES and obesity. Although the extant literature documented a higher prevalence of obesity among minorities than in whites, our results presented a lower socioeconomic inequality in obesity within minority groups. Our analyses suggested that gender, age, and ethnicity could be important factors on socioeconomic inequality in obesity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, MC2007, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA. qzhang@medicine.bsd.uchicago.edu
authors.forename: Qi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Youfa
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017677:Age Distribution; D015992:Body Mass Index; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017058:Mexican Americans / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008875:Middle Aged; D008913:Minority Groups / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015233:Models, Statistical; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D009765:Obesity / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012737:Sex Factors; D012923:Social Class; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data