Poverty equals obesity? Study contradicts common wisdom

Women who are poor are much more likely to be obese but men are not, US government researchers said on Tuesday in a report that contradicts some common perceptions.

They found income does not greatly affect whether a man is obese but that education seems to affect both sexes.

"Among men, obesity prevalence is generally similar at all income levels, with a tendency to be slightly higher at higher income levels," the team at the National Center for Health Statistics wrote.

Obesity is a growing problem for US policymakers. Two thirds of Americans are overweight or obese, with 72 million US adults, or 26.7%, being obese, with a body mass index or BMI, of 30 or more.

Several studies have linked obesity with both income and education.

The NCHS researchers used data from a national study of 5,000 people that is done every year.

Of the obese adults, 41 percent live in prosperous homes, bringing in at least $77,000 a year for a family of four, or 350% of poverty-level income.

They found 39% live in homes making between 130% and 350% of the poverty level, and 20% lived in poorer homes with incomes below 130% of the poverty level or $29,000 for a family of four.

They found that 33% of men living in well-to-do households with income at 350% of the poverty level were obese, compared to 29% of men who lived below 130% of the poverty level.

But income seems to affect a woman's weight. The researchers found 29% of women in well-to-do homes were obese, but 42% of women living below poverty level were.

Education plays an important role. Just over 27% of men with a college degree were obese compared with 32% of those with less than a high school education, while 23% of women with a college degree were obese, compared to 42% of women with less than a high school education.

A second study found children and teens living in homes with college-educated adults were less likely to be obese, and found stronger associations between obesity and income.

Just under 12% of boys and girls living in prosperous homes were obese, compared to 21% of boys and 19% of girls in the poorest homes.

Body-mass index is the weight in kilograms divided by the square of the height in meters. A BMI of between 25 and 30 is overweight and a BMI of 30 or over is obese.

A person 5 feet 5 inches tall (165 cm) is classified as overweight at 150 pounds (68 kg) and obese at 180 pounds (82 kg). A 5-foot-10 inch (1.8 meter) tall person who weighs 209 pounds (95 kg) has a BMI of 30 and is obese.

Being overweight or obese raises the risk of heart disease, diabetes, some cancers and arthritis and a study published this month in the New England Journal of Medicine confirmed that adults with a BMI of 25 or more are likely to die than someone the same age who is slimmer.