title: Explaining Racial Disparities in Obesity Among Men: Does Place Matter?
abstract: National data indicate that Black men have higher rates of obesity than White men. Black men also experience earlier onset of many chronic conditions and premature mortality linked to obesity. Explanations for these disparities have been underexplored, and existing national-level studies may be limited in their ability to explicate these long-standing patterns. National data generally do not account for race differences in risk exposures resulting from racial segregation or the confounding between race and socioeconomic status. Therefore, these differences in obesity may be a function of social environment rather than race. This study examined disparities in obesity among Black and White men living in the same social and environmental conditions, who have similar education levels and incomes using data from the Exploring Health Disparities in Integrated Communities-SWB (EHDIC-SWB) study. The findings were compared with the 2003 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). Logistic regression was used to examine the association between race and obesity adjusting for demographics, socioeconomic status, and health conditions. In the NHIS, Black men had a higher odds of obesity (odds ratio=1.29, 95% confidence interval=1.12-1.49) than White men. However in the EHDIC-SWB, which accounts for social and environmental conditions of where these men live, Black men had similar odds of obesity (odds ratio=1.06, 95% confidence interval=0.70-1.62) compared with White men. These data highlight the importance of the role that setting plays in understanding race disparities in obesity among men. Social environment may be a key determinant of health when seeking to understand race disparities in obesity among Black and White men.
authors.affiliation: Program for Research on Men's Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA rthorpe@jhu.edu.
authors.forename: Roland J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Thorpe
authors.affiliation: Program for Research on Men's Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kelley
authors.affiliation: Program for Research on Men's Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Janice V
authors.initials: JV
authors.lastname: Bowie
authors.affiliation: Institute for Research on Men's Health, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA.
authors.forename: Derek M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Griffith
authors.affiliation: Center for Health of Minority Males, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, USA Jackson State University, Jackson, MS, USA.
authors.forename: Marino
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bruce
authors.affiliation: Program for Research on Men's Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: LaVeist
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017677:Age Distribution; D015992:Body Mass Index; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003710:Demography; D004522:Educational Status; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology*; D016017:Odds Ratio; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012931:Social Environment; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: health inequality/disparity; male; obesity; social determinants of health