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

doi:10.1186/1471-2458-12-424

BMC Public Health. 2012; 12: 424.

Published online 2012 June 11. doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-12-424

PMCID: PMC3432605

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

Barbara Stewart-Knox,¹ Maresa E Duffy,¹ Brendan Bunting,² Heather Parr,¹ Maria Daniel Vas de Almeida,³ and Mike Gibney⁴

¹Northern Ireland Centre for Food & Health (NICHE) School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Ulster, Coleraine, Northern Ireland

²Psychology Research Institute, University of Ulster, Coleraine, Northern Ireland

³University of Porto, Porto, Portugal

⁴University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

Corresponding author.

Barbara Stewart-Knox: B.knox/at/ulster.ac.uk; Maresa E Duffy: m.duffy2/at/ulster.ac.uk; Brendan Bunting: bp.bunting/at/ulster.ac.uk; Heather Parr: hj.parr/at/email.ulster.ac.uk; Maria Daniel Vas de Almeida: dvalmeida/at/fcna.up.pt; Mike Gibney: Mike.gibney/at/ucd.ei

Received September 22, 2011; Accepted June 11, 2012.

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

Background

It 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.

Methods

Representative 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.

Results

In 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).

Conclusions

These 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.

Keywords: Waist circumference, BMI, Obesity, Psychological well-being, Stress, Hopelessness, Resilience, Mood, Lifestyle, Life events, Survey, Lipgene

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