Association between socioeconomic status and overweight and obesity among Inuit adults: International Polar Year Inuit Health Survey, 2007–2008

There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

Abstract

Objectives

To evaluate the socio-economic correlates of overweight and obesity among Inuit undergoing rapid cultural changes.

Study design

A cross-sectional health survey of 2,592 Inuit adults from 36 communities in the Canadian Arctic.

Methods

Main outcome measures were overweight and obesity (BMI>25 kg/m ² and >30 kg/m ², respectively) and as characteristics were similar, groups were combined into an at-risk BMI category (BMI>25 kg/m ²). Logistic regression was used to determine the association between various sociodemographic characteristics and physical activity with overweight and obesity.

Results

The prevalence of overweight and obesity was 28 and 36%, respectively, with a total prevalence of overweight and obesity of 64%. In analyses of sociodemographic variables adjusted for age, gender and region, higher education, any employment, personal income, and private housing were all significantly positively correlated with an at-risk BMI (p≤0.001). Smoking, Inuit language as primary language spoken at home, and walking were inversely associated with overweight and obesity.

Conclusions

The current findings highlight the social disparities in overweight and obesity prevalence in an ethnically distinct population undergoing rapid cultural changes.

Related collections

Most cited references 19

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

Compendium of physical activities: an update of activity codes and MET intensities.

Melody Swartz, W Haskell, Jennifer D. Bassett … (2000)

We provide an updated version of the Compendium of Physical Activities, a coding scheme that classifies specific physical activity (PA) by rate of energy expenditure. It was developed to enhance the comparability of results across studies using self-reports of PA. The Compendium coding scheme links a five-digit code that describes physical activities by major headings (e.g., occupation, transportation, etc.) and specific activities within each major heading with its intensity, defined as the ratio of work metabolic rate to a standard resting metabolic rate (MET). Energy expenditure in MET-minutes, MET-hours, kcal, or kcal per kilogram body weight can be estimated for specific activities by type or MET intensity. Additions to the Compendium were obtained from studies describing daily PA patterns of adults and studies measuring the energy cost of specific physical activities in field settings. The updated version includes two new major headings of volunteer and religious activities, extends the number of specific activities from 477 to 605, and provides updated MET intensity levels for selected activities.

0 comments Cited 765 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

Socioeconomic status and obesity in adult populations of developing countries: a review.

Andre Moura, João C. Monteiro, Wolney Conde … (2004)

A landmark review of studies published prior to 1989 on socioeconomic status (SES) and obesity supported the view that obesity in the developing world would be essentially a disease of the socioeconomic elite. The present review, on studies conducted in adult populations from developing countries, published between 1989 and 2003, shows a different scenario for the relationship between SES and obesity. Although more studies are necessary to clarify the exact nature of this relationship, particularly among men, three main conclusions emerge from the studies reviewed: 1. Obesity in the developing world can no longer be considered solely a disease of groups with higher SES. 2. The burden of obesity in each developing country tends to shift towards the groups with lower SES as the country's gross national product (GNP) increases. 3. The shift of obesity towards women with low SES apparently occurs at an earlier stage of economic development than it does for men. The crossover to higher rates of obesity among women of low SES is found at a GNP per capita of about US$ 2500, the mid-point value for lower-middle-income economies. The results of this review reinforce the urgent need to: include obesity prevention as a relevant topic on the public health agenda in developing countries; improve the access of all social classes in these countries to reliable information on the determinants and consequences of obesity; and design and implement consistent public actions on the physical, economic, and sociocultural environment that make healthier choices concerning diet and physical activity feasible for all. A significant step in this direction was taken with the approval of the Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health by the World Health Assembly in May 2004.

0 comments Cited 210 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

Arctic indigenous peoples experience the nutrition transition with changing dietary patterns and obesity.

H V Kuhnlein, O Receveur, R Soueida … (2004)

Indigenous Peoples globally are part of the nutrition transition. They may be among the most extreme for the extent of dietary change experienced in the last few decades. In this paper, we report survey data from 44 representative communities from 3 large cultural areas of the Canadian Arctic: the Yukon First Nations, Dene/Métis, and Inuit communities. Dietary change was represented in 2 ways: 1) considering the current proportion of traditional food (TF) in contrast to the precontact period (100% TF); and 2) the amount of TF consumed by older vs. younger generations. Total diet, TF, and BMI data from adults were investigated. On days when TF was consumed, there was significantly less (P 40 y old consistently consumed more (P or = 30 kg/m(2)) of Arctic adults exceeded all-Canadian rates. Measures to improve nutrient-dense market food (MF) availability and use are called for, as are ways to maintain or increase TF use.

0 comments Cited 114 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

All references

Author and article information

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): Int J Circumpolar Health

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): Int J Circumpolar Health

Journal ID (publisher-id): IJCH

Title: International Journal of Circumpolar Health

Publisher: Co-Action Publishing

ISSN (Print): 1239-9736

ISSN (Electronic): 2242-3982

Publication date (Electronic): 04 May 2012

Publication date Collection: 2012

Volume: 71

Electronic Location Identifier: 10.3402/ijch.v71i0.18419

Affiliations

School of Dietetics and Human Nutrition and Centre for Indigenous Peoples’ Nutrition and Environment (CINE), McGill University, St. Anne de Bellevue, Quebec, Canada

Author notes

[* ] Grace M. Egeland, School of Dietetics and Human Nutrition and Centre for Indigenous, Peoples' Nutrition and Environment (CINE), McGill University , 21111 Lakeshore Road, St. Anne de Bellevue, Quebec, H9X 3V9, Canada. Email: grace.egeland@ 123456mcgill.ca

Article

Publisher ID: IJCH-71-18419

DOI: 10.3402/ijch.v71i0.18419

PMC ID: 3417717

PubMed ID: 22584513

SO-VID: 5fa94811-da85-446f-842d-809a7027bd62

License:

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 Unported License, permitting all non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Association between socioeconomic status and overweight and obesity among Inuit adults: International Polar Year Inuit Health Survey, 2007–2008

Read this article at

Abstract

Objectives

Study design

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Related collections

Beyond the Snore: Comprehensive Studies on Sleep Apnea

Most cited references 19

Compendium of physical activities: an update of activity codes and MET intensities.

Socioeconomic status and obesity in adult populations of developing countries: a review.

Arctic indigenous peoples experience the nutrition transition with changing dietary patterns and obesity.

Author and article information

Journal

Affiliations

Author notes

Article

History

Categories

Comments

Comment on this article

Similar content 221

Cited by 13

Most referenced authors 452