SEARCHCROSS-SECTIONALpublic health, epidemiology

cross-sectional·public health, epidemiology, nutrition, endocrinology, internal medicine·PMC10464412

Explaining gender inequalities in overweight people: a Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition analysis in northern Sweden

International Journal for Equity in Health · 3 authors, 1 centre

AI SUMMARY

FIDELITY 100%

POPULATION20,855 adults aged 20–84 years in northern Sweden (47% men)

INTERVENTION

COMPARISONMen versus women

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AGENT 01 · STRUCTURED SUMMARY

TRACE TO SOURCE

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TL;DR

This cross-sectional study used Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition on a large Swedish survey to quantify factors explaining the gender gap in overweight prevalence. It found a significant gap favoring men, with behavioral and material factors accounting for about 39% of the difference.

Full summary

588 CHARS

This study analyzed data from the 2018 Swedish Health on Equal Terms survey to explain gender differences in overweight prevalence using Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition. The sample comprised 20,855 adults aged 20–84 years from northern Sweden. The prevalence of overweight was 64% in men and 52% in women, an 11.7 percentage point gap. Explanatory factors accounted for 39% of this gap, primarily driven by behavioral variables (19.3%), followed by material variables and age (16.2% and 3.1% respectively). Specific contributors included low education, low income, alcohol use, and snus use.

PICO

PPOPULATION

20,855 adults aged 20–84 years in northern Sweden (47% men)

OOUTCOME

Prevalence of overweight (including obesity)

STUDY TYPE

cross-sectional

SPECIALTY

public health

SUMMARISED BY

AI pipeline

FIDELITY CHECK

100% · A

ORIGINAL PAPER

PMC10464412

Explaining gender inequalities in overweight people: a Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition analysis in northern Sweden

International Journal for Equity in Health

READ THE FULL PAPER

ABSTRACT

Abstract Background Being overweight and obesity are considered serious public health concerns worldwide. At the population level, factors contributing to overweight as well as the differences in overweight between men and women in terms of prevalence or associated factors are relatively well-known. What is less known is what explains the inequalities in overweight between men and women. In this study, we examined the contribution of material, behavioural, and psychosocial factors in explaining the gender differences in overweight among adults in northern Sweden. Methods This study was based on the 2018 Swedish Health on Equal Terms survey, which was carried out in Sweden’s four northernmost regions. The analytical sample consisted of 20,855 participants (47% men) aged 20–84 years. Overweight (including obesity) was the outcome, and the selected explanatory variables were grouped according to three theoretical perspectives: material, behavioural and psychosocial. Descriptive statistics and Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition were applied for analysing the data. Results Our study showed that the prevalence of overweight was 64% and 52% among men and women, respectively. It, therefore, revealed a gender gap in overweight people of 11.7% points with explanatory factors accounting for 39% of that gap. This gender gap in overweight people was mostly explained by behavioural variables (19.3%), followed by the materialistic variables and age accounting for 16.2% and 3.1%, respectively. Specifically, having low education, being in the lowest income quintile, alcohol drinking and snus usage contributed to explain 8.4%, 8.9%, 2.8% and 6.3% of the gender difference, respectively. Conclusions We found a considerable gender inequality in overweight between men and women. The findings highlight that future overweight prevention initiatives would benefit from targeting the uncovered contributing factors to reduce gender inequalities in overweight people. Keywords: Sweden, Overweight, Obesity, Gender, Inequalities, Oaxaca decomposition

CITATION EXPORT

Fethi Mohammed Yusuf, Miguel San Sebastián, Masoud Vaezghasemi. Explaining gender inequalities in overweight people: a Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition analysis in northern Sweden. International Journal for Equity in Health. (2023). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-023-01973-9

AUTHORS

3 · 1 CENTRES

Fethi Mohammed Yusuf, Miguel San Sebastián, Masoud Vaezghasemi

1Department of Epidemiology and Global Health, Umeå University, Umeå, SE -901 87 Sweden