ABSTRACT

Background: Previous researches have shown that the prevalence of obesity is on the rise in different part of the world. In USA the prevalence of obesity is qualified as public health problem. Research has shown that the prevalence of obesity has been on the rise for over three decades. The obesity epidemic is now one of the biggest public health challenges to practitioners and policy makers in the health sector. However, research on the relationship between obesity and socio-economic conditions is still scant. Objective: The study aims to analyzing the linkage between obesity and socioeconomic factors. Methods: Our cross-sectional study design utilized the data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) to analyze the relationship between obesity and the socioeconomic status. We utilized ANOVA to conduct our analysis. Using data from BRFSS, this study looked at the relationship between obesity and socio-economic status. The variables we analyzed include age, Body Mass Index (BMI), income, education, race and metropolitan index. The data represents information about 5,228 people (2030 men and 3198 women) from the state of Missouri. Results: An ANOVA comparing the average BMI with education, income and race showed that there was a significant difference between income level less than $75,000 and more than $75,000 with a significance of (F(2, 4462) = 20.09; p<0.05). There was a statistically significant difference (F (2, 5174) =15.54; p<0.05) between blacks and other races. The results indicate that people who earn less than $75,000 were more likely to be obese than their wealthier counterparts. Blacks were found to have higher prevalence of obesity in comparison to other races. Conclusion: An overall association between socio-economic status and obesity was observed.
Keywords: Obesity, Socioeconomic factors, Races, USA.
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