Urban living and obesity: is it independent of its population and lifestyle characteristics?
Objectives: Living in an urban area influences obesity. However, little is known about whether this relationship is truly independent of, or merely mediated through, the demographic, socio-economic and lifestyle characteristics of urban populations. We aimed to identify and quantify the magnitude of...
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| Format: | Journal article |
| Language: | English |
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Blackwell Publishing
2008
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| _version_ | 1826269573190516736 |
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| author | Arambepola, C Allender, S Ekanayake, R Fernando, D |
| author_facet | Arambepola, C Allender, S Ekanayake, R Fernando, D |
| author_sort | Arambepola, C |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | Objectives: Living in an urban area influences obesity. However, little is known about whether this relationship is truly independent of, or merely mediated through, the demographic, socio-economic and lifestyle characteristics of urban populations. We aimed to identify and quantify the magnitude of this relationship in a Sri Lankan population. Methods: Cross-sectional study of adults aged 20-64 years representing the urban (n=770) and rural (n=630) populations, in the district of Colombo in 2004. Obesity was measured as a continuous variable using body mass index (BMI). Demographic, socio-economic and lifestyle factors were assessed. Gender-specific multivariable regression models were developed to quantify the independent effect of urban/rural living and other variables on increased BMI. Results: The BMI (mean; 95% confidence interval) differed significantly between urban (men: 23.3; 22.8-23.8; women: 24.2; 23.7-24.7) and rural (men: 22,3; 21.9-22.7; women: 23.2; 22.7-23.7) sectors (P < 0.01). The observed association remained stable independently of all other variables in the regression models among both men (coefficient = 0.64) and women (coefficient = 0.95). These coefficients equated to 2.2kg weight for the average man and 1.7kg for the average woman. Other independent associations of BMI were with income (coefficient = 1.74), marital status (1.48), meal size (1.53) and religion (1.20) among men, and with age (0.87), marital status (2.25) and physical activity (0.96) among women. Conclusions: Urban living is associated with obesity independently of most other demographic, socio-economic and lifestyle characteristics of the population. Targeting urban populations may be useful for consideration when developing strategies to reduce the prevalence of obesity. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-06T21:27:10Z |
| format | Journal article |
| id | oxford-uuid:437ea86a-c309-412b-8183-eb2f23ed8710 |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-06T21:27:10Z |
| publishDate | 2008 |
| publisher | Blackwell Publishing |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:437ea86a-c309-412b-8183-eb2f23ed87102022-03-26T14:55:45ZUrban living and obesity: is it independent of its population and lifestyle characteristics?Journal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:437ea86a-c309-412b-8183-eb2f23ed8710Public HealthEnglishOxford University Research Archive - ValetBlackwell Publishing2008Arambepola, CAllender, SEkanayake, RFernando, DObjectives: Living in an urban area influences obesity. However, little is known about whether this relationship is truly independent of, or merely mediated through, the demographic, socio-economic and lifestyle characteristics of urban populations. We aimed to identify and quantify the magnitude of this relationship in a Sri Lankan population. Methods: Cross-sectional study of adults aged 20-64 years representing the urban (n=770) and rural (n=630) populations, in the district of Colombo in 2004. Obesity was measured as a continuous variable using body mass index (BMI). Demographic, socio-economic and lifestyle factors were assessed. Gender-specific multivariable regression models were developed to quantify the independent effect of urban/rural living and other variables on increased BMI. Results: The BMI (mean; 95% confidence interval) differed significantly between urban (men: 23.3; 22.8-23.8; women: 24.2; 23.7-24.7) and rural (men: 22,3; 21.9-22.7; women: 23.2; 22.7-23.7) sectors (P < 0.01). The observed association remained stable independently of all other variables in the regression models among both men (coefficient = 0.64) and women (coefficient = 0.95). These coefficients equated to 2.2kg weight for the average man and 1.7kg for the average woman. Other independent associations of BMI were with income (coefficient = 1.74), marital status (1.48), meal size (1.53) and religion (1.20) among men, and with age (0.87), marital status (2.25) and physical activity (0.96) among women. Conclusions: Urban living is associated with obesity independently of most other demographic, socio-economic and lifestyle characteristics of the population. Targeting urban populations may be useful for consideration when developing strategies to reduce the prevalence of obesity. |
| spellingShingle | Public Health Arambepola, C Allender, S Ekanayake, R Fernando, D Urban living and obesity: is it independent of its population and lifestyle characteristics? |
| title | Urban living and obesity: is it independent of its population and lifestyle characteristics? |
| title_full | Urban living and obesity: is it independent of its population and lifestyle characteristics? |
| title_fullStr | Urban living and obesity: is it independent of its population and lifestyle characteristics? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Urban living and obesity: is it independent of its population and lifestyle characteristics? |
| title_short | Urban living and obesity: is it independent of its population and lifestyle characteristics? |
| title_sort | urban living and obesity is it independent of its population and lifestyle characteristics |
| topic | Public Health |
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