Obesity Inequalities According to Place of Birth: The Role of Education

Abstract

This study examined obesity inequalities according to place of birth and educational attainment in men and in women in Spain. A cross-sectional study was conducted using data from the Spanish National Health Survey 2011–2012 and from the European Health Survey in Spain 2014. We used data for 27,720 adults aged 18–64 years of whom 2431 were immigrants. We used log-binomial regression to quantify the association of place of birth with obesity before and after adjusting for the selected characteristics in women and in men. We found a greater probability of obesity in immigrant women (PR: 1.42; 95% CI: 1.22–1.64) and a lower probability of obesity in immigrant men (PR: 0.73; 95% CI: 0.59–0.89) relative to natives after adjustment. Significant heterogeneity was observed for the association of place of birth and obesity according to education in men (p-interactions = 0.002): Men with lower educational levels (PR: 0.47; 95% CI: 0.26–0.83) have a protective effect against obesity compared with their native counterparts. This study suggests that place of birth may affect obesity in women and in men. However, this effect may be compounded with education differently for women and men.

Socio-economic inequalities in children’s nutritional status in Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2017–2018: an analysis of data from a nationally representative survey

“…Furthermore, the violence that erupted in Kasaï during the August 2016 hindered the transportation of essential supplies, which negatively impacted the economy, causing price hikes on items such as food. As a consequence, hundreds of thousands of malnourished children were at increased risk of starvation (36) .…”

“…1). Although these provinces have agricultural potential, due to the vast deposits of diamonds, people tend to rely on the artisanal mining industry for a living, instead of involving in agriculture (36) . The deterioration of the transportation network also poses negative impacts on food security (37) .…”

Health of Refugees and Migrants—Where Do We Stand and What Directions Should We Take?

“…As seen in Table 1, migrant status does not necessarily pose a risk factor. Other sociodemographic factors, such as gender, age, education, and religious adherence were found to be associated with obesity and overall quality of diet, such as consumption of vegetables and fruit as well as alcohol consumption [43,44,45].…”

“…Being a migrant woman was a risk factor for obesity, while migrant men of low educational level in the Spanish population were relatively protected [43]…”

The Role of Physical Education in Preventing Unhealthy Lifestyles in Immigrant Adolescents

“…Caring about young immigrants’ integration, acculturation, health and well-being should be on public agents’ agendas. These topics have been addressed in the literature for adults [ 6 , 7 , 8 ], children [ 9 , 10 , 11 ], adolescents [ 12 , 13 ] and households [ 14 ]. However, this work focuses only on studies on young immigrants, analysing the underlying dimensions of a healthy lifestyle—exercise, physical activity and nutrition, among others—and their effects on practising sports.…”