Abstract
BackgroundThere is a growing literature documenting socioeconomic inequalities in obesity risk among adults in the UK, with poorer groups suffering higher risk.MethodsIn this systematic review, we summarize and appraise the extant peer-reviewed literature about socioeconomic inequalities in adult obesity risk in the UK published between 1980 and 2010. Only studies featuring empirical assessments of relations between socioeconomic indicators and measures of obesity among adults in the UK were included.ResultsA total of 35 articles met inclusion criteria, and were reviewed here.ConclusionSocioeconomic indicators of low socioeconomic position (SEP), including occupational social class of the head-of-household at birth and during childhood, earlier adulthood occupational social class, contemporaneous occupational social class, educational attainment, and area-level deprivation were generally inversely associated with adult obesity risk in the UK. Measures of SEP were more predictive of obesity among women than among men. We outline important methodological limitations to the literature and recommend avenues for future research.
Highlights
There is a growing literature documenting socioeconomic inequalities in obesity risk among adults in the United Kingdom (UK), with poorer groups suffering higher risk
The findings suggest that social class differences in obesity by socioeconomic position (SEP) may widen with time [1]
A systematic review of the peer-reviewed literature about socioeconomic inequalities in adult obesity in the UK published between 1980 and 2010 found that socioeconomic indicators of low SEP throughout the life course as well as in cross-sectional analyses, including head-of-household occupational social class (OSC) at birth and during childhood, earlier adulthood OSC, current OSC, educational attainment, and area-level deprivation were reliably associated with higher obesity risk in the UK
Summary
There is a growing literature documenting socioeconomic inequalities in obesity risk among adults in the UK, with poorer groups suffering higher risk. The obesity epidemic is progressing in the United Kingdom (UK) [1,2]. The findings suggest that social class differences in obesity by socioeconomic position (SEP) may widen with time [1]. Obesity is a central contributor to cardiovascular disease, being associated with hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and coronary heart disease [3]. Obesity is a predictor of several other diseases of population health importance [4,5], including diabetes mellitus [6], cancer [7,8,9], stroke [10], and depression [11], among others [4]. Decreased life expectancy and excess mortality have been demonstrated at both extremes of body mass index (BMI) [12,13]
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