Associations between obesity (BMI and waist circumference) and socio-demographic factors, physical activity, dietary habits, life events, resilience, mood, perceived stress and hopelessness in healthy older Europeans

BMC Public Health

Research Article

Barbara Stewart-Knox¹  Maresa E Duffy¹  Heather Parr¹  Brendan Bunting²  Mike Gibney³  Maria Daniel Vas de Almeida⁴ 

[1] Northern Ireland Centre for Food & Health (NICHE) School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Ulster, Coleraine, Ireland;Psychology Research Institute, University of Ulster, Coleraine, Ireland;University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland;University of Porto, Porto, Portugal;

关键词: Waist circumference;    BMI;    Obesity;    Psychological well-being;    Stress;    Hopelessness;    Resilience;    Mood;    Lifestyle;    Life events;    Survey;    Lipgene;   

DOI  :  10.1186/1471-2458-12-424

 received in 2011-09-22, accepted in 2012-06-11,  发布年份 2012

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundIt is important to understand the psycho-social context of obesity to inform prevention and treatment of obesity at both the individual and public health level.MethodsRepresentative samples of middle-aged adults aged ≥43 years were recruited in Great Britain (GB) (n = 1182) and Portugal (n = 540) and interviewed to explore associations between body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), demographic factors, physical activity, dietary habits (FFQ), life events (LES), Resilience (RS11), Mood (MS), Hopelessness (BDI) and Perceived Stress (PSS4). BMI (kg/m2) and WC (cm) were dependent variables in separate multiple linear regression models for which predictors were entered in 4 blocks: 1. demographic factors; 2. stressful life events; 3. diet/activity; and, 4. psychological measures.ResultsIn the GB sample, BMI (kg/m2) was predicted by less education, illness in a close friend or relative, frequent alcohol consumption and sedentary behaviour. Among the Portuguese, higher BMI (kg/m2) was predicted by lower resilience. Being male and less education were independent predictors of having a larger WC (cm) in both countries. Within GB, not working, illness in a close friend or relative, sedentary lifestyle and lower resilience were also independent predictors of a larger WC (cm).ConclusionsThese data suggest that intervention to treat and/or prevent obesity should target males, particularly those who have left education early and seek to promote resilience. In GB, targeting those with high alcohol consumption and encouraging physical activity, particularly among those who have experienced illness in a close friend or relative may also be effective in reducing obesity.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Stewart-Knox et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2012