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Educational attainment of offspring and obesity among older adults in China

Author

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  • Li, Yaoyue
  • Wang, Guixin
  • Li, Guofeng

Abstract

The study focuses on the role of adult offspring's educational attainment in obesity among older adults in China and investigates age and birth cohort heterogeneities in the educational effect. Using the longitudinal data from the 1993–2015 China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS), we employed three-level mixed-effects models and conducted sex-stratified analyses to examine the effects of co-resident offspring's education on body mass index (BMI), overweight, waist circumference (WC), and abdominal obesity among older people born before 1956. After controlling for confounding factors, the overall results showed inverted U-shaped educational gradients in BMI-based outcomes for males and positive gradients for females. The effect of education on WC exhibited an inverted U-shaped pattern for both sexes, but no significant effect on abdominal obesity was found among the overall population. However, further analyses of interaction effects indicated considerable age and cohort variations in the educational effects on obesity outcomes. Offspring's schooling was positively associated with obesity among earlier birth cohorts; Among more recent birth cohorts, especially among females, the educational effects were reversed, and disparities in obesity outcomes across education categories strengthened with age. These findings imply that offspring's education appears to gradually exert a protective role against obesity among Chinese older adults in successive cohorts.

Suggested Citation

  • Li, Yaoyue & Wang, Guixin & Li, Guofeng, 2021. "Educational attainment of offspring and obesity among older adults in China," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 286(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:286:y:2021:i:c:s0277953621006572
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114325
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