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Epidemiology and Population Health

Trends in body mass index according to educational attainment for urban Australian adults between 1980 and 2007

International Journal of Obesity volume 39, pages 1019–1026 (2015)Cite this article

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Abstract

Background:

We have previously demonstrated that between the years 1980 and 2000, the mean body mass index (BMI) of the urban Australian population increased, with greater increases observed with increasing BMI. The current study aimed to quantify trends over time in BMI according to level of education between 1980 and 2007.

Methods:

We compared data from the 1980, 1983 and 1989 National Heart Foundation Risk Factor Prevalence Studies, 1995 National Nutrition Survey, 2000 Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle Study and the 2007 National Health Survey. For survey comparability, analyses were restricted to urban Australian residents aged 25–64 years. BMI was calculated from measured height and weight. The education variable was dichotomised at completion of secondary school. Four age-standardised BMI indicators were compared over time by sex and education: mean BMI, mean BMI of the top 5% of the BMI distribution, prevalence of obesity (BMI⩾30 kg m−2), prevalence of class II+ obesity (BMI⩾35 kg m−2).

Results:

Between 1980 and 2007, the mean BMI among men increased by 2.5 and 1.7 kg m−2 for those with low and high education levels, respectively, corresponding to increases in obesity prevalence of 20 (from 12–32%) and 11 (10–21%) %-points. Among women, mean BMI increased by 2.9 and 2.4 kg m−2 for those with low and high education levels, respectively, corresponding to increases in obesity prevalence of 16 (12–28%) and 12 (7–19%) %-points. The prevalence of class II+ obesity among men increased by 9 (1–10%) and 4 (1–5%) %-points for those with low and high education levels, and among women increased by 8 (4–12%) and 4 (2–6%) %-points. Absolute and relative differences between education groups generally increased over time.

Conclusions:

Educational differences in BMI have persisted among urban Australian adults since 1980 without improvement. Obesity prevention policies will need to be effective in those with greatest socio-economic disadvantage if we are to equitably and effectively address the population burden of obesity and its corollaries.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge the insight the RIO advisory committee has provided to this project. We wish to thank the National Heart Foundation’s Risk Factor Prevalence Study Committee and the Australian Social Science Data Archive for access to the Risk Factor Prevalence Studies, the Australian Bureau of Statistics for access to the National Nutrition Survey and National Health Survey, and the AusDiab Steering Committee for access to the AusDiab study. This work was supported by an Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage grant (LP120100418) and in part by the Victorian Government’s Operational Infrastructure Support (OIS) Program. EG and K Backholer were also supported by the ARC Linkage grant (LP120100418) and an Australian National Preventive Health Agency grant (188PEE2011), EG was supported by an Australian Postgraduate Award, KB was supported by a Post doctoral Research Fellowship from the National Heart Foundation of Australia (PH 12M6824), AP was supported by a National Health and Medical Research Council Career Development Fellowship (1045456) and the Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute, CS was supported by an ARC Discovery Project Grant (DP120103277) and K Ball was supported by a NHMRC Principal Research Fellowship, ID 1042442.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

    E Gearon, K Backholer, D J Magliano, C Keating & A Peeters

  2. School of Public Health and Preventative Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

    E Gearon, K Backholer & A Peeters

  3. School of Health and Social Development, Deakin University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

    C Stevenson & A Beauchamp

  4. Centre for Physical Activity and Nutrition Research, Deakin University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

    K Ball

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  1. E Gearon
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Correspondence to E Gearon.

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Gearon, E., Backholer, K., Stevenson, C. et al. Trends in body mass index according to educational attainment for urban Australian adults between 1980 and 2007. Int J Obes 39, 1019–1026 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2015.27

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