Socioeconomic status and Obesity

There seems to be a lot of work done on low SES status influences obesity. There are some good systematic reviews, such as one by Dr. Lindsay McLaren from Calgary and one put out by the World Health Organization on the influence of SES indicators on obesity. 

The research indicates that there is a shift from lower income countries to higher income countries as to how the different quartiles of the population which are affected by obesity. In lower to middle income countries, there is a higher association of developing obesity in the top quartiles of society. Meanwhile, in developed countries, there was a higher association of obesity with the lower SES quartiles.

Interestingly, the study found this trend more pronounced among women. According to the WHO review, "Obesity was significantly more common among women of higher SES in all low-income economies and more common among women of lower SES in all upper-middle-income economies."

The data also indicates that in the developing world, as economic growth takes place, the lower quartiles are earilest affected with increases in obesity rates. This is especially concerning as some of the economic indicators for many nations around the world rise, there is an associated rise of chronic diseases like obesity taking place with that. Dr. Mclaren partly attributes this to the barriers of healthy lifestyles in the lower income quartiles even in the face of economic prosperity coupled with sociocultural value placed on large body types in lower SES communities in low income countries.