Understanding the obesity dynamics by socioeconomic status in Latin American contexts.

MEISEL, JOSÉ DAVID; ESGUERRA, VALENTINA; RAMÍREZ, ANGIE; MONTES, FELIPE; STANKOV, IVANA; BILAL, USAMA; PEREZ FERRER, CAROLINA; TUMAS, NATALIA; VALDIVIA, JUAN; DIEZ ROUX, ANA V.; SARMIENTO, OLGA L.

Modaliad virtual

Congreso; 17th International Conference on Urban Health.; 2021

Objective: We studied the obesity transition by socioeconomic status (SES), gender, and age within the Colombian urban population at the country, regional, and department level from 2005 to 2030.Methods: The study is informed by cross-sectional data from the 2005 and 2010 ?Encuesta Nacional de la Situación Nutricional en Colombia? (ENSIN) survey. We used these data to develop a system dynamics model that simulates the dynamics of obesity by body mass index (BMI) category, gender, and SES at the country, regional, and department level.Results: At the country level, transitions from overweight to obesity were projected to increase sharply among lower SES adults, particularly among women. We also found regional heterogeneity in the stages of the obesity transition. In women, five out of six regions were expected to undergo the obesity transition by SES between 2005 and 2020 (higher obesity in lower SES). For men, only one region was expected to undergo this transition in 2022. We found wider heterogeneity at the department level.Conclusions: We evidence the existence of an obesity transition in Colombia, with a shift in the burden of obesity from higher to lower SES, especially in women. These patterns support the need for policies that consider SES and gender, as important determinants of obesity among adults, in the context of socioeconomic changes. The model could be used for assessing the obesity transition in other LMICs, especially for future studies focusing on understanding the dynamics of obesity by SES in other urban Latin American settings.