Keyword: Health Behaviour
1 result found.
Original Article
Epidemiology and Health Data Insights, 2(5), 2026, ehdi050, https://doi.org/10.63946/ehdi/18958
ABSTRACT:
Background: Obesity is increasingly understood as a health outcome shaped by social conditions, yet evidence on socioeconomic inequalities in obesity in South Korea remains mixed, particularly with regard to lifestyle behaviours and sex differences.
Methods: This study uses pooled data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) 2022–2024 (N=11,714 adults aged 19–64 years). Obesity was defined as body mass index ≥25 kg/m². Socioeconomic status (SES) was assessed using education, income, occupation, and a composite SES index. Lifestyle factors, including physical activity, smoking, alcohol consumption, sleep duration, and working hours, were included in sequential regression models to assess whether associations between socioeconomic status and obesity were attenuated after adjustment for these factors. Survey-weighted logistic regression models were estimated, with additional analyses stratified by sex.
Results: Lower socioeconomic status was associated with a higher likelihood of obesity, although the strength and pattern of this relationship differed between men and women. Among women, clear inverse gradients were observed across education, income, and the composite SES index. Among men, associations were weaker and less consistent. Adjustment for lifestyle factors attenuated several socioeconomic associations with obesity, although socioeconomic differences remained evident, particularly among women. The composite SES index showed more consistent associations than individual socioeconomic indicators.
Conclusion: Socioeconomic inequalities in obesity persist in South Korea and differ substantially by sex. Associations between socioeconomic status and obesity were attenuated after adjustment for lifestyle factors, although socioeconomic differences remained evident after adjustment. These findings highlight the importance of considering both behavioural and broader structural factors when addressing obesity inequalities.
Methods: This study uses pooled data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) 2022–2024 (N=11,714 adults aged 19–64 years). Obesity was defined as body mass index ≥25 kg/m². Socioeconomic status (SES) was assessed using education, income, occupation, and a composite SES index. Lifestyle factors, including physical activity, smoking, alcohol consumption, sleep duration, and working hours, were included in sequential regression models to assess whether associations between socioeconomic status and obesity were attenuated after adjustment for these factors. Survey-weighted logistic regression models were estimated, with additional analyses stratified by sex.
Results: Lower socioeconomic status was associated with a higher likelihood of obesity, although the strength and pattern of this relationship differed between men and women. Among women, clear inverse gradients were observed across education, income, and the composite SES index. Among men, associations were weaker and less consistent. Adjustment for lifestyle factors attenuated several socioeconomic associations with obesity, although socioeconomic differences remained evident, particularly among women. The composite SES index showed more consistent associations than individual socioeconomic indicators.
Conclusion: Socioeconomic inequalities in obesity persist in South Korea and differ substantially by sex. Associations between socioeconomic status and obesity were attenuated after adjustment for lifestyle factors, although socioeconomic differences remained evident after adjustment. These findings highlight the importance of considering both behavioural and broader structural factors when addressing obesity inequalities.
