title: The impact of economic, political and social globalization on overweight and obesity in the 56 low and middle income countries.
abstract: Anecdotal and descriptive evidence has led to the claim that globalization plays a major role in inducing overweight and obesity in developing countries, but robust quantitative evidence is scarce. We undertook extensive econometric analyses of several datasets, using a series of new proxies for different dimensions of globalization potentially affecting overweight in up to 887,000 women aged 15-49 living in 56 countries between 1991 and 2009. After controlling for relevant individual and country level factors, globalization as a whole is substantially and significantly associated with an increase in the individual propensity to be overweight among women. Surprisingly, political and social globalization dominate the influence of the economic dimension. Hence, more consideration needs to be given to the forms of governance required to shape a more health-oriented globalization process.
authors.affiliation: Health Economics Group, Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ, UK; UKCRC Centre for Diet and Activity Research (CEDAR), Institute of Public Health, Cambridge, UK. Electronic address: y.goryakin@uea.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Yevgeniy
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Goryakin
authors.affiliation: World Obesity Federation, London, UK.
authors.forename: Tim
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lobstein
authors.affiliation: London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
authors.forename: W Philip T
authors.initials: WP
authors.lastname: James
authors.affiliation: UKCRC Centre for Diet and Activity Research (CEDAR), Institute of Public Health, Cambridge, UK; Centre for Health Economics, University of York, York, UK.
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Suhrcke
mesh_terms: D000069:Acculturation; D003906:Developing Countries; D057217:Economic Development; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D038622:Internationality; D015233:Models, Statistical; D009765:Obesity; D050177:Overweight / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011057:Politics; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors
keywords: Developing countries; Globalization; Obesity; Overweight
references.citation: BMJ. 2013;346:e7492
references.pmid: 23321486
references.citation: Lancet. 2014 Feb 15;383(9917):630-67
references.pmid: 24524782
references.citation: Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2004 Sep;28(9):1181-6
references.pmid: 15211362
references.citation: Bull World Health Organ. 2004 Dec;82(12):940-6
references.pmid: 15654409
references.citation: BMJ. 2012;345:e5124
references.pmid: 22915664
references.citation: Am J Clin Nutr. 2011 Feb;93(2):413-21
references.pmid: 21068343
references.citation: Lancet. 2013 Feb 23;381(9867):670-9
references.pmid: 23410611
references.citation: Lancet. 2011 Aug 27;378(9793):804-14
references.pmid: 21872749
references.citation: Obes Rev. 2012 Nov;13(11):1067-79
references.pmid: 22764734
references.citation: J Nutr. 2001 Mar;131(3):871S-873S
references.pmid: 11238777
references.citation: Econ Hum Biol. 2014 Jul;14:109-27
references.pmid: 24457038
references.citation: Perspect Biol Med. 2003 Summer;46(3 Suppl):S87-107
references.pmid: 14563077
references.citation: Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2004 Nov;28 Suppl 3:S2-9
references.pmid: 15543214
references.citation: Econ Hum Biol. 2007 Dec;5(3):379-91
references.pmid: 17702676
references.citation: Am J Public Health. 2013 Nov;103(11):2071-7
references.pmid: 23488503
references.citation: BMJ. 2012;345:e7666
references.pmid: 23220130
references.citation: Nutr Rev. 2012 Jan;70(1):3-21
references.pmid: 22221213
references.citation: Global Health. 2006 Mar 28;2:4
references.pmid: 16569239
references.citation: Annu Rev Public Health. 2005;26:239-57
references.pmid: 15760288
references.citation: PLoS Med. 2012;9(6):e1001235
references.pmid: 22745605
references.citation: Public Health Nutr. 2002 Feb;5(1A):113-22
references.pmid: 12027273
references.citation: Health Econ. 2001 Jan;10(1):1-7
references.pmid: 11180565
references.citation: J Intern Med. 2000 Mar;247(3):301-10
references.pmid: 10762445
references.citation: Soc Sci Med. 2007 Feb;64(4):858-70
references.pmid: 17125897
references.citation: Econ Hum Biol. 2009 Dec;7(3):283-93
references.pmid: 19748839
references.citation: Nutr Rev. 1997 Feb;55(2):31-43
references.pmid: 9155216
references.citation: Public Health Nutr. 2009 Nov;12(11):2150-8
references.pmid: 19433005