Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist
A study of women in 37 countries shows that poorer women are beginning to be affected by obesity as living standards rise.
Traditionally obesity has been linked with wealthy countries such as the United States, the UK, Germany, Italy and Japan. Obesity continues to rise, with accompanying risks such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes and some cancers. Now, it seems, obesity is becoming a worldwide problem.
Researchers at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, have analyzed information from 149,000 women aged 20 to 49 in 37 countries. They have found that obesity starts to be a problem whenever the gross national product of a nation exceeds around 2,500 US dollars per head. And the burden of obesity falls more on the poor and less well-educated women. The reasons why this is so are not completely clear. It may be that as incomes creep up, lack of food stops becoming a problem, but it is easier to access high-energy foods than healthier, low-energy dense foods. Further research is needed to clarify these issues.
Source
International Journal of Obesity online 2nd June 2004