The association between socioeconomic status and overweight/obesity in a Malay population in Singapore.
In developed countries in the West, lower socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with a higher prevalence of overweight/obesity. The authors examined the association between SES defined by education and income and overweight/obesity in a population-based cohort of 2807 individuals of Malay ethnicity (age 40-80 years, 51% women) in Singapore. The prevalence of overweight/ obesity (body mass index > or =25 kg/m(2)) in men and women was 50.4% and 65.1%, respectively. In women, the prevalence of overweight/obesity increased with lower levels of education and income. Compared with the higher categories of SES, the odds ratio (95% confidence interval) of overweight/obesity in women was 1.42 (1.06-1.89) for education and 2.08 (1.33-3.26) for income. In contrast, in men, the prevalence of overweight/obesity decreased with lower levels of education and income (P interaction by gender <.05 for all SES variables). Lower SES was positively associated with overweight/obesity in Malay women, and the association was in the opposite direction in Malay men.
Sabanayagam
Charumathi
C
Department of Community, Occupational, and Family Medicine, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
Shankar
Anoop
A
Saw
Seang Mei
SM
Tai
E Shyong
ES
Wong
Tien Yin
TY
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D044466:Asian People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009765:Obesity / Q000208:ethnology*; D016017:Odds Ratio; D050177:Overweight / Q000208:ethnology*; D015995:Prevalence; D012737:Sex Factors; D012846:Singapore / Q000453:epidemiology; D012923:Social Class