Abstract
BackgroundRural-to-urban migration is associated with increased obesity, yet it remains unknown whether this association exist, and to what extent, with other types of internal migration.MethodsWe conducted a secondary analysis of the Peruvian Demographic and Health Surveys (2005 to 2012) on data collected from women aged 15–49 years. Participants were classified as rural stayers, urban stayers, rural-to-urban migrants, intra-rural migrants, intra-urban migrants, and urban-to-rural migrants. Marginal effects from a logit regression model were used to assess the probabilities of being and becoming obese given both the length of time in current place of residence and women’s migration status.ResultsAnalysis of cross-sectional survey data generated between 2005 and 2012. Data from 94,783 participants was analyzed. Intra-urban migrants and rural-to-urban migrants had the highest rates of obesity (21% in 2012). A steady increase in obesity is observed across all migration statuses. Relative to rural non-migrants, participants exposed to urban environments had greater odds, two- to three-fold higher, of obesity. The intra-rural migrant group also shows higher odds relative to rural stayers (42% higher obesity odds). The length of exposure to urban settings shows a steady effect over time.ConclusionBoth exposure to urban environments and migration are associated with higher odds of obesity. Expanding the characterization of within-country migration dynamics provides a better insight into the relationship between duration of exposure to urban settings and obesity.
Highlights
Rural-to-urban migration is associated with increased obesity, yet it remains unknown whether this association exist, and to what extent, with other types of internal migration
The risk factors for, and health consequences of, obesity are well known, how the probabilities of being obese vary according to different within-country internal migration profiles, and how these relationships behave over time, remains unknown in most low and middle-income countries (LMICs)
This information was used to create six categories of resident status: (i) rural stayers, (ii) urban stayers, (iii) rural-to-urban migrants, (iv) intra-rural migrants, (v) intra-urban migrants, and (vi) urban-to-rural migrants
Summary
Rural-to-urban migration is associated with increased obesity, yet it remains unknown whether this association exist, and to what extent, with other types of internal migration. Over the last 40 years, there has been a significant increase in obesity, reflected by a high body mass index (BMI); between 1975 and 2014, global prevalence increased by 7.6 and 8.5% in men and women, respectively [1] This pattern of increase is not uniform across countries or within countries, with different groups at greater or lesser risk both of becoming obese and succumbing to associated health problems. 2012–13 found that, compared to the rural group, rural-to-urban migrants and urban dwellers had an almost ten-fold greater risk of developing obesity [2] Such discrepancies could be due to socio-economic differences, which determine exposure to known obesogenic risk factors such as sedentarism (low level of physical activity), limited access to healthy food choices among the worse-off [3], and stress [4, 5]. Rapid urbanization is Najera et al BMC Public Health (2019) 19:263 placing an undeniable strain on public resources in LMICs, and urban environments provide a range of challenges to newcomers from rural settings, with regards to health and nutrition [6]
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