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Decomposition of Gender Differences in Body Mass Index in Saudi Arabia using Unconditional Quantile Regression: Analysis of National-Level Survey Data.

ABSTRACT: Understanding gender differences in body mass index (BMI) between males and females has been much debated and received considerable attention. This study aims to decompose gender differentials in the BMI of people of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The study decomposed the BMI gender gap into its associated factors across the entire BMI distribution by using counterfactual regression methods. The main method of analysis was newly developed unconditional quantile regression-based decomposition, which applied Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition using data from the Saudi Health Interview Survey. Gender differentials were found in the BMI, with females showing a higher BMI than males. The aggregate decomposition showed that both the covariate effect and the structural effect were significant at the 25th and 50th quantiles. Detailed decomposition indicated that income level and employment status as well as soda consumption and the consumption of red meat were significantly correlated in explaining gender differentials in BMI across various quantiles, but the magnitude varied by quantile. Our study suggests the government should consider introducing programs that specifically target women to help them reduce BMI. These programs could include organizing sporting events at the workplace and at the national level. Furthermore, the effect of soda consumption could be reduced by levying a tax on beverages, which might reduce the demand for soda due to the increased price.

SUBMITTER: Al-Hanawi MK

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7178090 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Decomposition of Gender Differences in Body Mass Index in Saudi Arabia using Unconditional Quantile Regression: Analysis of National-Level Survey Data.

Al-Hanawi Mohammed Khaled MK Chirwa Gowokani Chijere GC Kamninga Tony Mwenda TM

International journal of environmental research and public health 20200330 7

Understanding gender differences in body mass index (BMI) between males and females has been much debated and received considerable attention. This study aims to decompose gender differentials in the BMI of people of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The study decomposed the BMI gender gap into its associated factors across the entire BMI distribution by using counterfactual regression methods. The main method of analysis was newly developed unconditional quantile regression-based decomposition, whic ...[more]

PMID: 32235630

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Project description:BackgroundObesity leads to other fatal diseases like diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, depression, and some forms of cancer. Still, the well-known tool to measure obesity is the body mass index. But it usually failed in the measurement of adipose tissues. So, we present a novel anthropometric measure, called body shape and size index which is developed by the combination of major anthropometric determinants: body surface area, body mass index, weight, and height.MethodsThis study is based on cross-sectional data consisting of 7224 individuals that were taken from the city Multan, Punjab, Pakistan. All the individuals, both males, and females, of age 2 years and above were included in the study except the pregnant women. The variables included in this study are gender, area (urban and rural), age (years), weight (kg), and height (meters). Growth charts of quantile regression are used for the inferential analysis of data. Comparison of proposed body shape and size index at different obesity levels has also been made to access the relationship of proposed body shape and size index with obesity.ResultsThe results show that the proposed body shape and size index has a great association with body surface area, body mass index, weight, height, and age. The proposed body shape and size index has a high negative association with body surface area, moderate negative association with body mass index and weight, and low negative association with height and age. According to growth charts of body shape and size index, after the age of 25 years, body shape and size index curves go upward while it smoothly goes downward at the age of 50 years but decreases in earlier ages. Body shape and size index showed a significant association with body shape and body size (body development) at the same time.ConclusionBody shape and size index is found, generally linear with age, and increased with decreasing body mass index and body surface area. The proposed index has an indirect relationship with obesity. Body shape and size index with low values indicates a high risk of obesity. While, however, body shape and size index with high values indicates a low risk of obesity. Applications of the proposed body shape and size index are also presented in statistical modeling.

Project description:Background and aimsThe coexistence of undernutrition and overnutrition creates a double burden of malnutrition (DBM) among women in Bangladesh. This study aimed to assess heterogeneous effects of sociodemographic factors on women's nutritional status using quantile regression (QR) models and to investigate the differences between the results of unconditional QR (UQR) and conditional QR (CQR) models.MethodsA sample of 17 285 nonpregnant women aged 15 to 49 years was extracted from the latest Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey, 2017-2018. Women's nutritional status was determined using body mass index (BMI). The UQR and CQR were used to estimate the heterogeneous effects of sociodemographic factors on women's BMI.ResultsResults show that the estimated effects of sociodemographic factors varied across the BMI distribution. For the same quantile, the effects differed between UQR and CQR. For instance, education was significantly positively associated with BMI. In UQR, secondary educated women achieved an increase of 0.996 and 1.720 in BMI at 10th and 90th quantiles, respectively, compared to noneducated women, whereas conditional effects were 1.336 and 1.492 at 10th and 90th quantiles, respectively, in CQR. These results also indicate secondary education appeared to have a lesser (or higher) impact in the lower (or upper) tail of BMI distribution, and unconditional and conditional effects for the same quantile varied notably. Other factors such as women's age, occupation, household wealth, number of children ever born and household size, religion, and place of residence were significantly associated with BMI and showed heterogeneous effects.ConclusionOverall, there is a need to focus on heterogeneous effects of factors on women's nutritional status. Patterns of unconditional heterogeneous effects would be more informative than conditional heterogeneous effects while studying factors' effects. These findings may aid in developing strategies targeting high-risk groups to combat the double burden of malnutrition.

Project description:The COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on various health conditions. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on body weight and body mass index (BMI) in Saudi Arabia. We used electronic health records obtained from a healthcare system representing five hospitals in three different regions in the Kingdom to examine the change in weight utilizing a longitudinal design. The study included all adults who had visited outpatient clinics in two different time points, pre-2020 (years 2018 and 2019 prior to COVID-19) and post-2020 (the year 2021). Weight and BMI changes in percentages were described. Also, bivariate chi-square test, paired t-test, and multivariable multinomial logistic regression model were used for the analyses. A total of 165,279 individuals were included in the study. On average, a significant weight gain of 0.33 kg (95% CI: 0.29-0.36) was observed in our study. Approximately 10% of the population had shifted to either overweight or obese BMI classes during the study period, as 4.8% of those with normal BMI pre-2020 had shifted to overweight or obese classes at post-2020, and 5.1% of those who were overweight had shifted to obese class. Also, 23.1% of the population had gained 5% or more of their pre-2020 weight, while 17% had lost 5% or more. Young individuals were over three times more likely to gain 5% or more than older individuals (OR: 3.34; 95% CI: 3.12-3.56). Females had 24% higher odds to gain 5% or more of their pre-2020 weight than males (OR: 1.24; 95% CI: 1.21-1.27). Diabetics were 27% more likely to lose 5% or more than non-diabetics (OR: 1.27; 95% CI: 1.23-1.31). Our findings provide insights into the impact of COVID-19 on weight and population health. Further investment in interventions for weight management is warranted during similar circumstances such as lockdowns due to infection waves or new variants. Future studies are also needed to explore the modifications that have occurred during the pandemic in the weight-related lifestyle factors such as dietary choices and physical activity levels.

Dataset Information

Decomposition of Gender Differences in Body Mass Index in Saudi Arabia using Unconditional Quantile Regression: Analysis of National-Level Survey Data.

Publications

Decomposition of Gender Differences in Body Mass Index in Saudi Arabia using Unconditional Quantile Regression: Analysis of National-Level Survey Data.

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