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Social factors and obesity: an investigation of the role of health behaviours

International Journal of Obesity volume 27, pages 394–403 (2003)Cite this article

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: This study evaluated a behavioural model of the relation between social factors and obesity, in which differences in body mass index (BMI) across sociodemographic groups were hypothesized to be attributable to social group differences in health behaviours affecting energy expenditure (physical activity, diet and alcohol consumption and weight control).

METHODS: A total of 8667 adults who participated in the 1995 Australian National Health and Nutrition Surveys provided data on a range of health factors including objectively measured height and weight, health behaviours, and social factors including family status, employment status, housing situation and migration status.

RESULTS: Social factors remained significant predictors of BMI after controlling for all health behaviours. Neither social factors alone, nor health behaviours alone, adequately explained the variance in BMI. Gender-specific interactions were found between social factors and individual health behaviours.

CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that social factors moderate the relation between BMI and weight-related behaviours, and that the mechanisms underlying sociodemographic group differences in obesity may vary among men and women. Additional factors are likely to act in conjunction with current health behaviours to explain variation in obesity prevalence across sociodemographic groups.

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Acknowledgements

Dr Kylie Ball is supported by a Public Health Postdoctoral Research Fellowship from the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council, ID 136925.

Dr David Crawford is supported by a Career Development Award funded jointly by the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council and National Heart Foundation of Australia.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Health Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood, VIC 3125, Australia

    K Ball & D Crawford

  2. MRC-Human Nutrition Research, Elsie Widdowson Laboratory, Cambridge, UK

    G D Mishra

Authors
  1. K Ball
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  2. G D Mishra
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  3. D Crawford
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to K Ball.

Appendix.1

Appendix.1

Summary of items loading on four conceptual SES domains (Table 5).

Table 5
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Ball, K., Mishra, G. & Crawford, D. Social factors and obesity: an investigation of the role of health behaviours. Int J Obes 27, 394–403 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0802237

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