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American Public Health Association
133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition
December 10-14, 2005
Philadelphia, PA
APHA 2005
 
5143.0: Wednesday, December 14, 2005 - 1:00 PM

Abstract #113556

Does parity contribute to the racial disparity in obesity among US women?

Leslie A. Korenda, MPH, National Center for Health Statistics/ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 3311 Toledo Road, Room 6413, Hyattsville, MD 20782, 301-458-4081, lkorenda@cdc.gov and Jennifer D. Parker, PhD, Population Epidemiology Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, 3311 Toledo Road, Hyattsville, MD 20782.

Objective: To examine parity and potential determinants of racial disparity in obesity levels among nonpregnant women 40 years or older. Methods: Using the National Health and Nutrition Survey, 1999-02, obesity was defined by World Health Organization body mass index (BMI) categories. Using SUDAAN, linear and ordered logistic regression were used to model the effect of parity and other factors on the association between ethnicity and BMI (normal (<25), overweight (25-29.9), obese (>30)). Results: Among our 2323 women, obesity and parity varied by race; 32.6% (SE 1.9) of non-Hispanic white (N=1266), 51.6% (SE 2.4) of non-Hispanic black (N=477) and 44.1% (SE 3.0) of Mexican American (N=580) were obese, while 48.1% (SE 1.9) of Mexican American women had 4 or more children, compared to 31.2% (SE 2.0) of black and 25.0% (SE 1.5) of white women.. Overall, obese women were more likely to have 4 or more children: 33.7% (SE 1.9). After adjusting for parity, minority women were more likely to be in a higher BMI category than white women: Odds Ratio [95% confidence interval]=2.4[1.9 – 3.1] for black and 1.6 [1.3- 2.1] for Mexican American women. Adjustment for other confounders did not materially change the associations. Similarly unadjusted results from linear regression for continuous BMI changed little after adjusting for parity (black women unadjusted beta = 4.1 [SE 0.4], adjusted = 4.0 [SE 0.5]; Mexican American women unadjusted beta = 2.0 [SE 0.5], adjusted = 1.6 [SE 0.5]). Conclusions: Parity is not a significant contributor to racial differences in obesity among women.

Learning Objectives:

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.

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The 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition (December 10-14, 2005) of APHA