IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/plo/pone00/0177151.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Socio-economic status over the life course and obesity: Systematic review and meta-analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Suzy Newton
  • Dejana Braithwaite
  • Tomi F Akinyemiju

Abstract

Background: The purpose of this review was to summarize the published literature on the association of childhood, adulthood and life course socio-economic status (SES) with obesity between January 1990 and June 2015. Methods: The major medical electronic databases were searched to identify studies that examined SES over the life-course in relation to obesity. A total of 219 studies were identified through the initial search, and 35 qualified for full review. Of these, 14 publications met our inclusion criteria for the meta-analysis, all from developed or upper-middle income countries. Results: There was a consistent association between lower life course SES and obesity among women (summary OR: 1.35, 95% CI: 1.04, 1.76), but not among men (summary OR: 0.92, 95% CI: 0.60, 1.40). Overall, mean BMI was higher among individuals with lower life course SES compared with those with higher life course SES (summary mean BMI difference: 0.65, 95% CI: 0.59, 0.71). Mean waist circumference (WC) was higher among women with lower life course SES compared with those with higher life course SES (summary mean WC: 4.67, 95% CI: 4.15, 5.20), but lower among men (summary mean WC difference: -0.10, 95% CI: -0.11, -0.08). Conclusion: The inverse relationship between life course SES and obesity among women was consistent, based mostly on studies in developed countries. Nevertheless, critical information gaps remain in relation to the impact of childhood and life course SES on obesity in developing countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Suzy Newton & Dejana Braithwaite & Tomi F Akinyemiju, 2017. "Socio-economic status over the life course and obesity: Systematic review and meta-analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(5), pages 1-15, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0177151
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0177151
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0177151
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0177151&type=printable
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1371/journal.pone.0177151?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Rahul Malhotra & Chetna Malhotra & Angelique Chan & Truls Østbye, 2012. "Life-Course Socioeconomic Status and Obesity Among Older Singaporean Chinese Men and Women," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 68(1), pages 117-127.
    2. Chaparro, M.P. & Koupil, Ilona, 2014. "The impact of parental educational trajectories on their adult offspring's overweight/obesity status: A study of three generations of Swedish men and women," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 199-207.
    3. Monteiro, C.A. & Conde, W.L. & Popkin, B.M., 2004. "The Burden of Disease from Undernutrition and Overnutrition in Countries Undergoing Rapid Nutrition Transition: A View from Brazil," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 94(3), pages 433-434.
    4. James, S.A. & Fowler-Brown, A. & Raghunathan, T.E. & Van Hoewyk, J., 2006. "Life-course socioeconomic position and obesity in African American women: The Pitt County study," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 96(3), pages 554-560.
    5. Hedwig Lee & Kathleen Harris & Penny Gordon-Larsen, 2009. "Life Course Perspectives on the Links Between Poverty and Obesity During the Transition to Young Adulthood," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 28(4), pages 505-532, August.
    6. Jeffery, R.W. & French, S.A., 1996. "Socioeconomic status and weight control practices among 20- to 45-year- old women," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 86(7), pages 1005-1010.
    7. Lawlor, D.A. & Batty, G.D. & Morton, S.M.B. & Clark, H. & Macintyre, S. & Leon, D.A., 2005. "Childhood socioeconomic position, educational attainment, and adult cardiovascular Risk Factors: The Aberdeen children of the 1950s cohort study," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 95(7), pages 1245-1251.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Daichi Okabe & Taishi Tsuji & Masamichi Hanazato & Yasuhiro Miyaguni & Nao Asada & Katsunori Kondo, 2019. "Neighborhood Walkability in Relation to Knee and Low Back Pain in Older People: A Multilevel Cross-Sectional Study from the JAGES," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(23), pages 1-13, November.
    2. Katharina Syböck & Beda Hartmann & Sylvia Kirchengast, 2023. "Maternal Prepregnancy Obesity Affects Foetal Growth, Birth Outcome, Mode of Delivery, and Miscarriage Rate in Austrian Women," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(5), pages 1-13, February.
    3. Kao, Kai-Erh & Jones, Amanda C. & Ohinmaa, Arto & Paulden, Mike, 2020. "The health and financial impacts of a sugary drink tax across different income groups in Canada," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 38(C).
    4. Shun-ichiro Asahara & Hiroshi Miura & Wataru Ogawa & Yoshikazu Tamori, 2020. "Sex difference in the association of obesity with personal or social background among urban residents in Japan," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(11), pages 1-11, November.
    5. Kotone Tanaka & Kanami Tsuno & Yasutake Tomata, 2023. "Impact of Household Economic and Mothers’ Time Affluence on Obesity in Japanese Preschool Children: A Cross-sectional Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(14), pages 1-12, July.
    6. Morar, Manisha & Vandevijvere, Stefanie & Swinburn, Boyd, 2021. "The potential impact of an implemented income redistribution package on obesity prevalence in New Zealand," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 268(C).
    7. Wu, Hania Fei, 2021. "Social determination, health selection or indirect selection? Examining the causal directions between socioeconomic status and obesity in the Chinese adult population," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 269(C).
    8. Dimitrios V. Diamantis & Kalliopi Karatzi & Paris Kantaras & Stavros Liatis & Violeta Iotova & Yulia Bazdraska & Tsvetalina Tankova & Greet Cardon & Katja Wikström & Imre Rurik & Emese Antal & Alelí M, 2022. "Prevalence and Socioeconomic Correlates of Adult Obesity in Europe: The Feel4Diabetes Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-15, October.
    9. Kamila Kholmatova & Alexandra Krettek & David A. Leon & Sofia Malyutina & Sarah Cook & Laila A. Hopstock & Ola Løvsletten & Alexander V. Kudryavtsev, 2022. "Obesity Prevalence and Associated Socio-Demographic Characteristics and Health Behaviors in Russia and Norway," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(15), pages 1-21, August.
    10. Weidong Li & Shuzhuo Li & Marcus W. Feldman, 2021. "Socioeconomic Status, Institutional Power, and Body Mass Index among Chinese Adults," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(20), pages 1-19, October.
    11. Li Lin & Weiqing Chen & Weidi Sun & Minyan Chen & Jinghua Li & Jichuan Shen & Vivian Yawei Guo, 2022. "Associations between Adverse Childhood Experiences and Obesity in a Developing Country: A Cross-Sectional Study among Middle-Aged and Older Chinese Adults," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(11), pages 1-12, June.
    12. Caroline Barakat & Theodore Konstantinidis, 2023. "A Review of the Relationship between Socioeconomic Status Change and Health," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(13), pages 1-13, June.
    13. Esposito, Lucio & Villaseñor, Adrián & Rodríguez, Enrique Cuevas & Millett, Christopher, 2020. "The economic gradient of obesity in Mexico: Independent predictive roles of absolute and relative wealth by gender," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 250(C).
    14. Sayaka Horiuchi & Ryoji Shinohara & Sanae Otawa & Megumi Kushima & Yuka Akiyama & Tadao Ooka & Reiji Kojima & Hiroshi Yokomichi & Kunio Miyake & Hiroyuki Hirai & Koichi Hashimoto & Michio Shimabukuro , 2021. "Influence of Maternal Active and Secondhand Smoking during Pregnancy on Childhood Obesity at 3 Years of Age: A Nested Case–Control Study from the Japan Environment and Children’s Study (JECS)," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(23), pages 1-13, November.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jeroen Waal & Stijn Daenekindt & Willem Koster, 2017. "Statistical challenges in modelling the health consequences of social mobility: the need for diagonal reference models," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 62(9), pages 1029-1037, December.
    2. Jake M. Najman & William Wang & Maria Plotnikova & Abdullah A. Mamun & David McIntyre & Gail M. Williams & James G. Scott & William Bor & Alexandra M. Clavarino, 0. "Poverty over the early life course and young adult cardio-metabolic risk," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 0, pages 1-10.
    3. Tetyana Pudrovska & Benedicta Anikputa, 2014. "Editor's choice Early-Life Socioeconomic Status and Mortality in Later Life: An Integration of Four Life-Course Mechanisms," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 69(3), pages 451-460.
    4. Barboza Solís, Cristina & Fantin, Romain & Castagné, Raphaële & Lang, Thierry & Delpierre, Cyrille & Kelly-Irving, Michelle, 2016. "Mediating pathways between parental socio-economic position and allostatic load in mid-life: Findings from the 1958 British birth cohort," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 165(C), pages 19-27.
    5. Hruschka, Daniel J. & Brewis, Alexandra A., 2013. "Absolute wealth and world region strongly predict overweight among women (ages 18–49) in 360 populations across 36 developing countries," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 11(3), pages 337-344.
    6. Jatta Salmela & Tea Lallukka & Elina Mauramo & Ossi Rahkonen & Noora Kanerva, 2020. "Body Mass Index Trajectory–Specific Changes in Economic Circumstances: A Person-Oriented Approach Among Midlife and Ageing Finns," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(10), pages 1-13, May.
    7. Malena Monteverde & Kenya Noronha & Alberto Palloni & Beatriz Novak, 2010. "Obesity and excess mortality among the elderly in the United States and Mexico," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 47(1), pages 79-96, February.
    8. Sirpa Sarlio-Lähteenkorva, 2001. "Weight Loss and Quality of Life among Obese People," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 54(3), pages 329-354, June.
    9. Jake M. Najman & William Wang & Maria Plotnikova & Abdullah A. Mamun & David McIntyre & Gail M. Williams & James G. Scott & William Bor & Alexandra M. Clavarino, 2020. "Poverty over the early life course and young adult cardio-metabolic risk," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 65(6), pages 759-768, July.
    10. Walsemann, Katrina M. & Goosby, Bridget J. & Farr, Deeonna, 2016. "Life course SES and cardiovascular risk: Heterogeneity across race/ethnicity and gender," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 147-155.
    11. Chen, Huan & Pang, Jun & Koo, Minkyung & Patrick, Vanessa M., 2020. "Shape Matters: Package Shape Informs Brand Status Categorization and Brand Choice," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 96(2), pages 266-281.
    12. María Laura Bergel Sanchís & María Florencia Cesani & Evelia Edith Oyhenart, 2017. "Contexts of occurrence of child malnutrition in the district of Villaguay, Entre Ríos, Argentina. A multivariate analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(4), pages 1-13, April.
    13. Ramraj, Chantel & Shahidi, Faraz Vahid & Darity, William & Kawachi, Ichiro & Zuberi, Daniyal & Siddiqi, Arjumand, 2016. "Equally inequitable? A cross-national comparative study of racial health inequalities in the United States and Canada," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 161(C), pages 19-26.
    14. Daniel J Corsi & Jocelyn E Finlay & S V Subramanian, 2011. "Global Burden of Double Malnutrition: Has Anyone Seen It?," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 6(9), pages 1-13, September.
    15. Dayse Rodrigues Sousa Andrade & Lidyane V. Camelo & Rodrigo Citton P. Reis & Itamar S. Santos & Antonio Luiz Ribeiro & Luana Giatti & Sandhi Maria Barreto, 2017. "Life course socioeconomic adversities and 10-year risk of cardiovascular disease: cross-sectional analysis of the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 62(2), pages 283-292, March.
    16. Melissa Scharoun-Lee & Penny Gordon-Larsen & Linda Adair & Barry Popkin & Jay Kaufman & Chirayath Suchindran, 2011. "Intergenerational Profiles of Socioeconomic (Dis)advantage and Obesity During the Transition to Adulthood," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 48(2), pages 625-651, May.
    17. Jehn, Megan & Brewis, Alexandra, 2009. "Paradoxical malnutrition in mother-child pairs: Untangling the phenomenon of over- and under-nutrition in underdeveloped economies," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 7(1), pages 28-35, March.
    18. Lhuissier, Anne, 2010. "Introduction - Maigrir : de la terminologie aux prariques," Review of Agricultural and Environmental Studies - Revue d'Etudes en Agriculture et Environnement (RAEStud), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), vol. 91(2).
    19. Johnston, David W. & Lordan, Grace, 2014. "Weight perceptions, weight control and income: An analysis using British data," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 12(C), pages 132-139.
    20. Cristina Teixeira & Susana Silva & Milton Severo & Henrique Barros, 2015. "Socioeconomic Position Early in Adolescence and Mode of Delivery Later in Life: Findings from a Portuguese Birth Cohort," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(3), pages 1-16, March.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0177151. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: plosone (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.