Family income and body mass index - what have we learned from China

The role of individual and contextual economic factors in obesity among adolescents: A cross-sectional study including 143 160 participants from 41 countries

Background

To our knowledge, no previous study has examined the role of index of economic freedom (IEF) in the prevalence of excess weight and obesity in adolescents. The aim of this study was to determine the association between both individual and contextual economic factors and the prevalence of overweight and obesity (i.e. excess weight) or obesity in adolescents from different countries.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was carried out using data from the 2017/2018 wave of the Health Behaviour School-Aged Children study. Body mass index z-score was determined following the International Obesity Task Force criteria and, subsequently, excess weight and obesity were computed. The Family Affluence Scale was used to assess socioeconomic status. The index of IEF was used to estimate the benefits of economic freedom, both for individuals and for society as a whole.

Results

An inverse association was shown between socioeconomic status (SES) and excess weight or obesity, with adolescents with high SES and medium SES being less likely to have excess weight compared to adolescents with low SES (medium SES: odds ratio (OR) = 0.79; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.77-0.82, P < 0.001; high SES: OR = 0.65; 95% CI = 0.62-0.68, P < 0.001). For obesity, lower odds were also found for adolescents with medium SES (medium SES: OR = 0.74; 95% CI = 0.69-0.80, P < 0.001) or high SES (high SES: OR = 0.55; 95% CI 0.49-0.61, P < 0.001), in comparison with their counterparts with low SES. On the other hand, it was observed a greater likelihood of having excess weight and obesity in mostly unfree countries (excess weight: OR = 0.72; 95% CI = 0.51-1.00, P = 0.052; obesity: OR = 0.60; 95% CI = 0.39-0.92, P = 0.019) compared to free/mostly free countries. These results remained significant after adjusting for several sociodemographic and lifestyle covariates.

Conclusions

Both individual and contextual factors seem to have a crucial role in the prevalence of excess weight and obesity in adolescents.

Family economic trajectories and body mass index in Indonesia: Evidence from the Indonesian Family Life Surveys 2 to 5

Indonesia faces the double burdens of childhood obesity and malnutrition. A family's socioeconomic status has been suggested to be one of the most influential factors contributing to childhood nutritional problems. This study aimed to: 1) identify the distinct trajectories of family economics; and 2) assess whether a family's economic trajectory influences children's body mass index (BMI). We analyzed trajectory patterns of family economic levels from 1997 to 2015 among 846 children aged under 3 years in 1997 using data from Indonesian Family Life Surveys. Trajectory patterns were identified with Group-Based Trajectory Modeling using the traj plug-in in STATA software. The BMI was classified according to 2007 World Health Organization growth standards. Adjusted relative risk ratios (aRRRs) of family economic level trajectories and children's BMI were calculated using multinomial logistic regressions. We identified three distinct trajectories of family economic level: stable poorest, stable middle, and increasing richest. In the total sample, there were no significant relationships between a family's income trajectory and children's BMI in the adjusted models. A significant relationship existed for male children, but not for female children, of compared to the poorest family trajectory group, male children in the increasing richest trajectory group were more likely to be overweight/obese (aRRR 6.1, 95% confidence interval: 1.22-30.62) after adjusting for age and BMI. The present results highlight the importance of early interventions to minimize the potential adverse impacts of excessive BMI later in adulthood.

Association of BMI, Diet, Physical Activity, and Oral Hygiene Practices with DMFT Index of Male Dental Students at King Faisal University, Al-Ahsa

Despite sufficient knowledge of good oral hygiene habits, dental students still suffer from oral health problems owing to dietary habits, obesity, and a sedentary lifestyle. This cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate an association of BMI (body mass index), diet, physical activity, and oral hygiene practices with DMFT (decayed, missing, and filled teeth) of male dental students and interns at King Faisal University, Saudi Arabia, from August to September 2020. One hundred and eighty-five male participants completed the study questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of sociodemographic information and nineteen close-ended questions about current diet, physical activity, and oral hygiene practices. Students’ height (cm) and weight (kg) were measured to calculate BMI. The principal investigator performed the oral clinical examinations for the DMFT status in the dental clinic. The chi-square test was used for the dichotomous variables and a t-test was used for the continuous variables. Linear and multinomial logistic regression were performed to detect the significant predictors of the DMFT score. The mean age of participants was 22.29 ± 2.13 years, and the BMI was 24.94 ± 3.36 (Kg/m²). Parents’ higher education and income levels were significantly (p < 0.001) associated with a higher BMI. Most dietary variables, especially sugar products, and low physical activity, were significantly (<0.047) associated with higher BMI. All oral hygiene practices, except miswak and mouthwash, were significantly (<0.003) associated with higher BMI. Decayed and missing teeth were significantly (<0.001) higher in the overweight and obese. A simple linear regression analysis demonstrated association between BMI and decayed teeth, with an R = 0.35 (<0.001); BMI and missing teeth had an R = 0.12 (p = 0.867); BMI and filled teeth had an R = 0.15 (p = 0.033), and BMI with DMFT had an R = 0.33 ((<0.001). This study demonstrated a strong significant association of the decayed and missing teeth with higher BMI levels. In addition, BMI was significantly associated with diet and physical activity, despite acceptable oral hygiene practices.

Better Dietary Knowledge and Socioeconomic Status (SES), Better Body Mass Index? Evidence from China-An Unconditional Quantile Regression Approach

Obesity is a rapidly growing public health threat in China. Improvement of dietary knowledge may potentially reduce the risk of obesity and being overweight. However, existing studies focus on measuring the mean effects of nutrition knowledge on body mass index (BMI). There is a lack of literature on the effect of dietary knowledge on BMI, and the potential heterogeneity of the effect across the whole BMI distribution and across socioeconomic status (SES) groups. This study aims to investigate the heterogeneous nature of the relationship between dietary knowledge, SES, and BMI, using data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) in 2015. We employed unconditional quantile regression (UQR) to assess how the relationship between dietary knowledge, SES, and BMI varies across the whole BMI distribution, and conducted subgroup analyses using different socio-economic subsamples. Results indicate that dietary knowledge had no statistically significant impact on BMI across the BMI distribution. There was a large degree of heterogeneity in the SES effect across the BMI distribution as well as a major gender difference in the SES effect on BMI. Education had a significant and inverse association with BMI across the BMI distribution, greater at higher BMI quantiles. Income growth had a larger effect on the 50th quantile of BMI for males in the middle-income group, but was not significant for females. As income increased, males without college educations had higher BMI while females with college or higher education generally had lower BMI. The findings of this study reveal the heterogeneous nature of the relationship between SES, gender, and obesity across the entire BMI distribution, suggesting that quantile regressions might offer a valuable framework for exploring the complex relationship of dietary knowledge, demographic, and socio-economic factors on obesity.

Bariatric Embolization of the Left Gastric Arteries for the Treatment of Obesity: 9-Month Data in 5 Patients

PURPOSE

The purpose of this study is to investigate the safety and 9-month effectiveness of transcatheter left gastric artery embolization (LGAE) for treating patients with obesity.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The protocol of this study was approved by the Institutional Ethics Review Board. Five obese patients (3 men and 2 women) with mean weight of 102.0 ± 16.19 kg (range, 82.1-125.5 kg) and mean body mass index (BMI) of 38.1 kg/m² ± 3.8 (range, 32.9-42.4 kg/m²) underwent LGAE with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) particles in diameter of 500-710 μm. The primary endpoint was the safety by grading the adverse events (AEs) according to the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE v4.0) within 30 days after LGAE. The secondary endpoints were measured with serum ghrelin and leptin levels, body weight, waist circumference, waist-to-height ratio, and abdominal fat quantity on MRI at the day immediately before LGAE and every 3 months after LGAE.

RESULTS

LGAE was successfully performed in all patients. A superficial linear ulceration below the cardia was seen in 1 patient 3 days after LGAE and healed within 30 days. No other serious AEs (grade III or above) occurred. Average body weight loss at 3, 6, and 9 months was 8.28 ± 7.3 kg (p = 0.074), 10.42 ± 8.21 kg (p = 0.047), and 12.9 ± 14.66 kg (p = 0.121), respectively. The level of serum ghrelin decreased by 40.83% (p = 0.009), 31.94% (p = 0.107), and 24.82% (p = 0.151) at 3, 6, and 9 months after LGAE, respectively. There was minimal reduction of leptin levels at 3 and 6 months following LGAE (decreased by 0.26%, p = 0.929, and 4.33%, p = 0.427, respectively), but it declined obviously 9 months after LGAE (decreased by 11.22%, p = 0.295). Both waist circumference and waist-to-height ratio decreased after LGAE. MRI showed the area of subcutaneous adipose tissue decreased from the baseline of 400.90 ± 79.25 to 320.36 ± 68.06 cm² (decreased by 20.09%, p = 0.006) at 3 months, to 328.31 ± 52.67 cm² (decreased by 18.11%, p = 0.020) at 6 months, and to 286.40 ± 55.72 cm² (decreased by 28.52%, p = 0.101) at 9 months after LGAE, respectively. But the decrease of abdominal fat loss at 9 months after LGAE was largely due to the reduction in visceral adipose tissue.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study with 9-month data in 5 patients indicates that bariatric embolization of the LGA is a safe and may be a promising strategy to suppress the production of ghrelin and results in weight loss and abdominal fat reduction.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02786108).