Do Life Style Factors And Socioeconomic Variables Explain Why Black Women Have A Remarkably Higher Body Mass Index (BMI) Than White Women In The United States? Findings From The 2010 National Health Interview Survey

Authors

Mohammad Siahpush, University of Nebraska Medical Center- College of Public HealthFollow
Courtney A. Pinard, University of Nebraska Medical Center- Gretchen Swanson Center for NutritionFollow
Gopal K. Singh, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services- Office of Epidemiology and Research, Division of EpidemiologyFollow
Melissa Tibbits, University of Nebraska Medical Center- College of Public HealthFollow
Raees A. Shaikh, University of Nebraska Medical Center- College of Public HealthFollow
Amy Yaroch, University of Nebraska Medical Center- Gretchen Swanson Center for NutritionFollow

Keywords

Race; Body-Mass Index; BMI; Socio Economics; Life Styles

Disciplines

Public Health

Abstract

Objective: There are marked inequalities in body mass index (BMI), overweight, and obesity across ethnic groups. We sought to examine the extent to which lifestyle factors and socioeconomic variables explain the higher BMI in Black women compared to White women in the United States.

Methods: We used data from the 2010 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) and limited the sample to non-Hispanic Black and non-Hispanic White women (n = 9,491). We employed normal regression and compared the association of race with BMI before and after adjusting for lifestyle factors (diet, physical activity, smoking, and drinking) and socioeconomic variables (education, ratio of income to poverty threshold, occupation, and home ownership). Data analysis was performed in 2012.

Results: The difference between the BMI of Black and White women decreased from 2.91 to 2.17 Kg/m² (i.e. a decrease of 27.2%) after adjusting for lifestyle factors and socioeconomic variables. Multivariate results also showed that higher consumption of fruit/vegetables and beans, lower consumption of red meat and sugar sweetened beverages, physical activity, smoking, regular drinking, and higher socioeconomic status were associated with lower BMI.

Conclusions: Lifestyle factors and socioeconomic variables explain about a quarter of the BMI inequality between Black and White women. Thus, interventions that promote healthy eating and physical activity among Blacks as well as social policies that ameliorate socioeconomic inequalities between races might be able to reduce the current BMI inequality between Black and White women.

Recommended Citation

Siahpush, Mohammad; Pinard, Courtney A.; Singh, Gopal K.; Tibbits, Melissa; Shaikh, Raees A.; and Yaroch, Amy (2013) "Do Life Style Factors And Socioeconomic Variables Explain Why Black Women Have A Remarkably Higher Body Mass Index (BMI) Than White Women In The United States? Findings From The 2010 National Health Interview Survey," Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice: Vol. 6: Iss. 2, Article 9.
Available at: https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/jhdrp/vol6/iss2/9