Abstract

OBJECTIVES:This study explored multidimensional factors related to obesity by dividing them into individual and environmental factors, and performed multilevel analysis to investigate community environmental effects.METHODS:Data from the 2011 and 2012 Community Health Surveys were used for the analysis. Community-level variables, constructed from various regional statistics, were included in the model as environmental factors. Respondents with body mass index (BMI)≥25 were defined as obese, and a multilevel logistic regression analysis was conducted to analyze individual and environmental factors related to obesity. Moreover, a stratified analysis was conducted to compare factors related to obesity between men and women.RESULTS:Of 337,136 samples, 82,887 (24.6%) were obese, with BMI≥25. Sociodemographic characteristics at the individual level were mostly significantly related to obesity; however, while there were more obese men subjects among those with high socioeconomic status, there were more obese women among those with low socioeconomic status. There were fewer obese respondents among those who regularly walked and more obese respondents among those who reported short sleep duration or were highly stressed. At the community level, people living in areas with high socioeconomic status, high satisfaction with safety and public transportation, and high accessibility to sports facilities in their community had lower obesity risks.CONCLUSIONS:Community-level environmental factors affected obesity, especially perceived community environment, more significant than physical environment. Thus, it is necessary to develop effective obesity prevention and management strategies by considering potential community environmental factors that affect obesity.

Highlights

  • As the obesity has been considered as a global public health issue, the obesity rates in South Korea have grown constantly for the last 10 years

  • This study aimed to explore multidimensional factors related to obesity by dividing them into individual and environmental factors based on the socioecological model, and to investigate the effects of community environment on obesity by applying multilevel analysis

  • This study developed variables using regional statistical data from Community Health Surveys (CHS) and public administrative statistics to distinguish and examine the influence of individual and environmental factors related to obesity

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Summary

Introduction

As the obesity has been considered as a global public health issue, the obesity rates in South Korea have grown constantly for the last 10 years. According to a recent analysis of over 100 million health checkup cases in a big data study from the National Health Insurance Service, severe (BMI≥ 30) and morbid obesity rates (BMI≥ 35) increased 1.7- and 2.9-fold, respectively, in the last 10 years, higher rates of increase than the overall obesity rate [3]. These changes vary according to age and gender, which implies the need for targeted management plans.

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