National economic development and disparities in body mass index: a cross-sectional study of data from 38 countries.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Increases in body mass index (BMI) and the prevalence of overweight in low- and middle income countries (LMICs) are often ascribed to changes in global trade patterns or increases in national income. These changes are likely to affect populations within LMICs differently based on their place of residence or socioeconomic status (SES).

Objective

Using nationally representative survey data from 38 countries and national economic indicators from the World Bank and other international organizations, we estimated ecological and multilevel models to assess the association between national levels of gross domestic product (GDP), foreign direct investment (FDI), and mean tariffs and BMI.

Design

We used linear regression to estimate the ecological association betwee

SUBMITTER: Neuman M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4053361 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature