Addressing socioeconomic inequalities in obesity: Democratising access to resources for achieving and maintaining a healthy weight
Jean Adams
Abstract
In low-income countries, overweight and obesity are more common in more socioeconomically affluent groups This pattern flattens and then reverses as country-level income increases. In high-income countries, those living in less affluent circumstances are more likely to experience overweight and obesity. For example, in England, adults living in the most deprived fifth of neighbourhoods are almost twice as likely to be living with obesity (where the prevalence of obesity is 36%) as those living in the least deprived fifth (where the prevalence of obesity is 20%) These socioeconomic inequalities in unhealthy body weight manifest early in life, with an obvious relationship seen between neighbourhood deprivation and the experience of overweight or obesity in 4-to 5-year-old children in England As more countries experience epidemiological transitions, this inverse association between socioeconomic position and prevalence of unhealthy weight is becoming more common