International Journal of Public Health

, Volume 55, Issue 3, pp 193–200 | Cite as

Examining the association between socioeconomic position and body mass index in 1978 and 2005 among Canadian working-age women and men

  • Lindsay McLaren
  • M. Christopher Auld
  • Jenny Godley
  • David Still
  • Lise Gauvin
Original Article
First Online:
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:

Abstract

Objectives

We examined the association between socioeconomic position (SEP) and body mass index (BMI) among Canadian men and women in 1978 and 2005. We examined both the average SEP–BMI association, and variation in this association across the distribution of BMI.

Methods

We analysed data from two nationally representative surveys containing measured height and weight data: the Canada Health Survey (1978) and the Canadian Community Health Survey (2005). Ordinary least squares and quantile regression were used to examine average and distributional SEP–BMI associations, respectively, for each survey.

Results

Education was inversely associated with BMI for men and women at both time points, and there was no evidence of narrowing between 1978 and 2005. This association was stronger for women than men, and was particularly strong for heavier women. Education and income related differently to BMI.

Conclusions

The SEP–BMI association in Canada is complex, showing variation by gender, by aspect of SEP, across the BMI distribution, and at different time points. The association departs from the more consistent social gradient in health, thereby challenging our view of BMI as a typical health issue.

Keywords

Body mass index (BMI) Socioeconomic position (SEP) Canada Population trends 
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Notes

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by an Establishment Grant from the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research, and a Petro-Canada Young Innovator Award in Community Health, both awarded to Lindsay McLaren. Lindsay McLaren holds a Population Health Investigator Award from the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research. M. Christopher Auld holds a Health Scholar Award from the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research. Lise Gauvin holds a Canadian Institutes of Health Research/Centre de Recherche en Prévention de l’Obésité Applied Public Health Chair in Neighborhoods, Lifestyle, and Healthy Body Weight.

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Copyright information

© Birkhäuser Verlag, Basel/Switzerland 2009

Authors and Affiliations

  • Lindsay McLaren
    • 1
  • M. Christopher Auld
    • 2
  • Jenny Godley
    • 3
  • David Still
    • 2
  • Lise Gauvin
    • 4
  1. 1.Department of Community Health SciencesUniversity of CalgaryCalgaryCanada
  2. 2.Department of EconomicsUniversity of CalgaryCalgaryCanada
  3. 3.Department of SociologyUniversity of CalgaryCalgaryCanada
  4. 4.Department of Social and Preventive MedicineUniversity of MontrealMontrealCanada

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