Educational inequality in the occurrence of abdominal obesity according to gender and color/race: the Pro-Health Study, 1999-2001 and 2011-2012

Abstract

Cross-sectional data from the Pro-Health Study in 1999-2001 and 2011-2012 revealed important gender and color/race differences in the size and variation across time in educational inequalities related to abdominal obesity. Probability of obesity increased steadily in women (independently of color/race) and men (brown/black) with less schooling. These gradients were quantified according to the relative index of inequality (RII). Over the course of the decade, there was a reduction in inequality in brown/black women (ΔRII: 0.5; 95%CI: 0.2-1.1), underlying a relatively higher increase in the prevalence of abdominal obesity in women with more schooling. RII was stable in white women and brown/black men, indicating a similar increase in the prevalence of abdominal obesity in educational subgroups. The association between schooling and abdominal obesity was affected by the multiple interaction of socio-demographic factors. Our results recommend joint stratification by gender and color/race in the study of socioeconomic inequalities related to abdominal obesity.