Education, wealth and obesity

The impacts on women in Egypt

A recent study has reported on the interaction between education, household wealth and obesity levels of women living in Egypt. The research conducted by Aitsi-Selmi et al. in PLoS One concluded that high levels of education can mitigate against the obesogenic impacts of increasing household wealth. Women who had experienced lower levels of education were found to be at a greater risk of becoming obese if their level of wealth increased – those with the lowest education level who moved up one wealth quintile in 2005/8 was associated with a 33 per cent increase in the odds of obesity. The authors note that there has been ‘a remarkable increase in obesity prevalence among the less educated, poorer and rural dwelling women’ (for example, among the poorest, obesity increased from 7.8 per cent in 1992/5 to 27.9 per cent in 2002/5).

In contrast, those who are highly educated do not experience the same link between increasing wealth and increasing obesity.

The study suggests that women who have received higher levels of education are more able to make healthy decisions, which decrease their likelihood of becoming obese. As levels of wealth increase, food becomes more accessible and less educated women may be more likely to adopt an unhealthy diet. However, the research acknowledges that additional factors such as cultural attitudes to physical activity and body shape can also play a large role in determining obesity levels.

Significantly, the study recognises that increased education of women in Egypt may help to protect them against NCD risk factors such as obesity – the first time, the authors claim, that this protective relationship (in conjunction with wealth) has been shown in a population.

Source: Aitsi-Selmi et al., PLoS One 7(6), 27 June 2012.

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