Relation of socioeconomic status to overweight and obesity: a large population-based study of Chinese adults

TLDR

China has experienced rapid social and economic changes with marked regional socioeconomic disparities. The study examined how socioeconomic status relates to overweight and obesity among 7,351 adults aged 20–79 in Tianjin, China. Socioeconomic data were collected through structured interviews, while anthropometric measurements were taken using standard protocols and obesity was defined by the Working Group on Obesity in China criteria; associations were evaluated with multinomial logistic regression adjusting for confounders. Higher income and education were associated with lower odds of abdominal overweight/obesity in women but higher odds of general overweight/obesity in men, while retirement increased abdominal overweight/obesity and non‑manual work lowered abdominal obesity risk in women, indicating that SES influences obesity differently by sex.

Abstract

China has been going through significant changes in social and economical aspects and with great socioeconomic disparity in different regions. However, data on the association between socioeconomic status (SES) and obesity are not available in Tianjin, China.This study aimed to investigate the association between SES and high adiposity among the adult population in Tianjin.A total of 7351 individuals aged 20-79 were included in this study. Socioeconomic information was collected through an interview following a structured questionnaire. Waist circumference, body weight and height were measured following standard procedures. Overweight and obesity were defined according to the criteria of the Working Group on Obesity in China. Data were analysed using multinomial logistic regression with adjustment for potential confounders.Stratified analysis showed that higher monthly income and education were related to decreased odds of abdominal overweight/obesity in women, while high education was associated with increased odds of general overweight/obesity in men. Retirement increased the odds of abdominal overweight and obesity and non-manual work was associated with low odds of abdominal obesity in women.SES was associated with general and abdominal overweight/obesity and sex may play a role in such an association.