Elsevier

Public Health

Volume 121, Issue 8, August 2007, Pages 603-613
Public Health

Original Research
Risk factors for overweight and obesity: results from the 2001 National Health Survey

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2007.01.008Get rights and content

Summary

Objectives

A significant rise in the proportion of overweight and obese adults has produced a serious health epidemic in Australia and worldwide. The current research aimed to identify sociodemographic and behavioural predictors of overweight and obesity among a large representative sample of Australian adults.

Study design

We used the National Health Survey conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in 2001. The survey involved a stratified multistage area sample of private dwellings and face-to-face interviews.

Methods

We analysed data from 8643 females and 7600 males who responded to the 2001 National Health Survey. Multinomial logistic regression examined the association of being overweight or obese versus a healthy weight with a range of sociodemographic and behavioural variables.

Results

Fewer females than males were overweight while similar proportions were obese. For females and males, overweight and obesity were significantly associated with older age, being born in Australia, not being in a marriage-like relationship, low education, physical inactivity, and being a non/ex-smoker. High household incomes are protective from obesity but not from being overweight. Additionally, females with high levels of area social disadvantage and males in professional or white-collar occupations were more likely to be overweight or obese than a healthy weight.

Conclusions

Reductions in mortality and morbidity associated with overweight and obesity may be achieved by targeting health promotion strategies to high-risk groups such as those who are older, single, Australian born, socioeconomically disadvantaged, physically inactive, and non-smokers.

Introduction

Overweight and obesity have produced a serious health epidemic in Australia and worldwide. It is currently estimated that 4.9–7.4 million Australians (42–64% of men and 25–49% of women) are overweight and 2.4–2.5 million (16–19% of men and 17–22% of women) are obese.1, 2 Obesity places considerable economic burden on already strained healthcare systems as it reduces quality of life and leads to premature mortality.3 In 1989 the estimated cost of obesity-related conditions in Australia, such as non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, hypertension, coronary heart disease and cancer, was A$395 million.3 Overweight and obesity are undoubtedly costing Australians considerably more given that the prevalence of these conditions has more than doubled over the past 20 years.4 Individual-based approaches to weight change are regarded to have had limited success and population-based strategies are rare.5 As acknowledged by Swinburn, comprehensive and innovative interventions are required and need to target children and high-risk adults.5 So who is at ‘high risk’ for being overweight or obese?

A number of factors have been associated with overweight and obesity. Within affluent societies weight gain appears to be more common among older women with relatively low socioeconomic status (SES).6, 7 Sociodemographic correlates of weight gain and being overweight include marriage and living with a partner,6, 8, 9, 10 residing in small towns and villages,11, 12 low education level4, 6, 13, 14, 15, 16 and area social disadvantage.17 Two important behavioural indicators of body weight are engaging in physical activity and smoking status. Increasing levels of leisure-time physical activity have been found to decrease obesity13, 18, 19 and daily smokers are much less likely than others to be overweight or obese.4, 12, 20

The development of interventions that successfully target ‘high-risk’ groups is dependent upon the identification of compelling risk factors. To date, past research has revealed inconsistent risk factors for weight gain. Such inconsistencies could be attributed to the use of minority populations,12, 20, 21, 22, 23 older samples,6, 22, 24 women only,6, 8, 16 and the use of a limited range of socioeconomic measures.10, 13, 21, 22, 25 The present study aimed to identify reliable risk factors for overweight and obesity by examining a wide range of sociodemographic and behavioural factors as predictors in a large nationally representative sample of Australian adults.

Section snippets

Sample selection

Data were obtained from the 2001 National Health Survey (NHS), which was conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) using a stratified multistage area sample of private dwellings.26 Trained ABS interviewers performed face-to-face interviews with one selected resident from each dwelling. The response rate was 92% following sample loss, with a total of 26 863 respondents.

Measurement

The outcome was body weight. Body mass index (BMI), a measure of a person's weight in relation to their height (kg/m2

Results

The sample comprised 53.2% (N=8643) females and 46.8% (N=7600) males aged 18 years and over. Of the total sample, 18.2% were aged 18–29 years, 33.4% were aged 30–44 years, 24.5% were aged 45–59 years, and 23.9% were aged 60 years or over. A greater proportion of females were a healthy weight (57.7% and 42.1%, respectively), a greater proportion of males were overweight (25.6% and 42.1%, respectively), and similar proportions were obese (16.6% and 15.8%, respectively). Sample characteristics and

Discussion

Using data from the 2001 National Health Survey we found rates of overweight and obesity comparable to those reported in previous years. The sample comprised 26% and 42% overweight females and males, respectively, and 17% and 16% obese females and males, respectively. Respondents who were older, born in Australia, not in a marriage-like relationship, who received an education lower than tertiary level, who engaged in no physical activity, and who were a non/ex-smoker were identified to be at

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by a grant from the Victorian Health Promotion Foundation (VicHealth).

Statement of competing interests: There are no competing interests.

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