Abstract
PurposePsychosocial stress is associated with obesity in some populations, but it is unclear whether the association is related to migration. This study explored associations between psychosocial stress and obesity among Ghanaian migrants in Europe and non-migrant Ghanaians in Ghana.MethodsCross-sectional data from the RODAM study were used, including 5898 Ghanaians residing in Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, rural Ghana, and urban Ghana. Perceived discrimination, negative life events and stress at work or at home were examined in relation to body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC). Linear regression analyses were performed separately for migrants and non-migrants stratified by sex.ResultsPerceived discrimination was not associated with BMI and WC in both migrants and non-migrants. However, negative life events were positively associated with BMI (β = 0.78, 95% CI 0.34–1.22) and WC (β = 1.96, 95% CI 0.79–3.12) among male Ghanaian migrants. Similarly, stress at work or at home was positively associated with BMI (β = 0.28, 95% CI 0.00–0.56) and WC (β = 0.84, 95% CI 0.05–1.63) among male Ghanaian migrants. Among non-migrant Ghanaians, in contrast, stress at work or at home was inversely associated with BMI and WC in both males (β = − 0.66, 95% CI − 1.03 to − 0.28; β = − 1.71 95% CI − 2.69 to − 0.73, respectively) and females (β = − 0.81, 95% CI − 1.20 to − 0.42; β = − 1.46, 95% CI − 2.30 to − 0.61, respectively).ConclusionsNegative life events and stress at work or at home are associated with increased body weight among male Ghanaians in European settings, whereas stress at work or at home is associated with reduced body weight among Ghanaians in Ghana. More work is needed to understand the underlying factors driving these differential associations to assist prevention efforts.
Highlights
Over the past 40 years, the number of obese people has grown exponentially, surpassing the number of underweight people in the world [1]
This study focused on psychosocial stress including perceived discrimination, negative life events, and perceived stress at home or at work to explore their associations with obesity among Ghanaian migrants in Europe and nonmigrants in Ghana
Migrants were more highly educated than non-migrants, with 21.9% of male migrants having achieved the highest level of education compared with 7.9% of nonmigrants (p < 0.001), and 12.1% of female migrants compared with 2.4% of non-migrants (p < 0.001)
Summary
Over the past 40 years, the number of obese people has grown exponentially, surpassing the number of underweight people in the world [1]. This shows the extent to which obesity has become a global concern, and emphasizes the importance of understanding its underlying causes. Sub-Saharan African (SSA) migrants, one of the most rapidly increasing migrant communities in Europe, are among the most affected by both obesity and type 2 diabetes [4,5,6,7,8,9]. Understanding the role of migration on obesity rates among SSA migrants requires comparing migrants with the population of their country of origin [10]. The RODAM study did this by performing a cross-sectional analysis of Ghanaians living in
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