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Obesity highest in parish with greatest proportion of farmers in Jamaica, a lower middle income country
To investigate reasons for geographic variation of obesity in Jamaica
Study Design and Setting
Using the Jamaica Health and Lifestyle Survey 2008 (JHLS II) parish-specific age-adjusted prevalence estimates of obesity were obtained. Sex-specific odds ratios for obesity by parish were determined using the parish with the lowest obesity prevalence as the referent. Models were adjusted for age, urbanity, physical activity and diet.
Results
Age-adjusted parish obesity prevalence ranged from 19.5% to 37.8% (1.7-31.0% in men and 27.4-48.2% in women). St. Elizabeth with the highest proportion of farmers (12.7%) had the highest prevalence of obesity. Among men, the lowest prevalence was seen in Portland the parish with the 4th highest proportion of farmers (8.6%); and among women, in St. Ann the parish with the 3rdhighest proportion of farmers (9.4%). Logistic regression models revealed that men residing in St. Elizabeth, were 16 times more obese compared to men living in Portland [Odds Ratio (OR), 16.7; 95% CI, 2.1, 134.3). Women residing in St. Elizabeth had twice the odds of being obese compared to those living in St. Ann [Odds Ratio (OR), 2.3; 95% CI, 1.007, 5.3). No significant associations were seen with parish education or poverty levels.
Conclusion
Significant differences in obesity exist across parishes in Jamaica, a country undergoing an epidemiological transition. Counter intuitively, the highest prevalence is in the parish with the greatest proportion of farmers. Further analyses must be conducted to determine what compositional or contextual influences account for this variation to inform prevention efforts in similar populations.
Learning Areas:
Chronic disease management and preventionDiversity and culture
Epidemiology
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Public health or related education
Social and behavioral sciences
Learning Objectives:
Describe briefly the geographical divisions of Jamaica, a small island developing country
Name parishes in Jamaica with highest prevalence of obesity
Compare geographical differences in prevalence of obesity between Jamaicans and African Americans
Discuss compositional and contextual factors that may contribute to differences in geographical variation between developing and developed countries
Keyword(s): Obesity, International Health
Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: Since 2002 I have been working as a public health practitioner in chronic disease epidemiology, firstly as the national epidemiologist with responsibility for Chronic Diseases and since 2003 as part of the Cardiovascular Research Group at the Tropical Medicine Research Institute UWI Jamaica. I'm am currently enrolled as a Doctorate of Public Health (DrPH) student with research focus on geographical variation in CNCDs and risk factors.
Any relevant financial relationships? No
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.