Selection and prioritization of factors contributing to overweight and obesity based on country statistics
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2022-02-25
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en
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Selection and prioritization of factors contributing to overweight and obesity based on country statistics
The literature provides contradicting information on factors possibly causing overweight and obesity. Therefore, this study investigates factors, as identified in literature, on their significance and relative importance, which are investigated by cross-sectional analyses on data from 189 countries using multiple linear regression. Worldwide trends in overweight and obesity are confirmed. The study includes complete case analyses and analyses on imputed datasets by predictive mean matching. The regression is significant for all models for all datasets investigated. Sugar supply and fat supply, the human development index (HDI) and urbanization are all significant in explaining overweight prevalence, with sugar supply and fat supply dominating. Physical inactivity is not associated with overweight prevalence. The KOF Globalization Indices are less successful in explaining overweight prevalence, except for the social dimension. The latter can replace HDI without causing too much change in the regression results of other dominant factors, but HDI performs better. The results suggest that the increase in a country’s development, expressed by a higher HDI and level of urbanization, changes the food environment resulting in a positive energy balance. More energy is consumed than expended, most likely caused by excessive calorie intake rather than a lack of physical activity.
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Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen