ArticleSocial science & medicine (1982)2012
Obesity, SES, and economic development: a test of the reversal hypothesis.
Article in Social science & medicine (1982), 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 103 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
103 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Socioeconomic position, genetic susceptibility, and epigenetic profiles in obesity across the life course: a systematic review.International journal of obesity (2005) · 2026Pooled it
- Global, regional and time-trend prevalence of central obesity: a systematic review and meta-analysis of 13.2 million subjects.European journal of epidemiology · 2020Pooled it
- Overweight and obesity epidemic in Ghana-a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC public health · 2016Pooled it
- Socioeconomic inequalities in children's weight, height and BMI trajectories in Norway.Scientific reports · 2021Trial
- Associations of Socioeconomic Status and Physical Activity With Obesity Measures in Rural Chinese Adults.Frontiers in public health · 2020Trial
- Transition of obesity in India, 2006-2021: a state-wise investigation from an equity perspective.BMJ global health · 2026Article
- Municipal deprivation and cardiometabolic outcomes in Mexican adults: findings from ENSANUT 2021-2023.International journal for equity in health · 2026Article
- Socio-Demographic and Health Determinants of Overnutrition in Hungarian Women Aged 65 Years and Older.Nutrients · 2025Article
- Examining the reversal hypothesis on socioeconomic status and noncommunicable diseases, and gender disparities in China: a nationwide longitudinal analysis between 1991 and 2020.SSM - population health · 2025Article
- Analysis of determinants of pre-diabetes and diabetes among Bangladeshi adults: an application of multinomial logistic regression model.BMC endocrine disorders · 2025Article
- Educational and Socioeconomic Correlates of Stroke Risk Behaviors: Findings from the SPRINT INDIA Trial.Annals of Indian Academy of Neurology · 2025Article
- Early Roots of Childhood Obesity: Risk Factors, Mechanisms, and Prevention Strategies.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Rising Obesity-Associated Mortality in Men: Exploration of Gender Disparity from the Global Burden of Disease Study, 1990-2019.Journal of general internal medicine · 2025Article
- Oxidative balance scores and gallstone disease: mediating effects of oxidative stress.Nutrition journal · 2025Article
- The Relationship Between Education Level and the Prevalence and Medical Behavior of Sleep-Disordered Breathing: A Population-Based Cross-Sectional Study.Nature and science of sleep · 2025Article
- A Scoping Review of the Social Determinants of Pediatric and Adolescent Obesity.International journal of pediatrics · 2025Review
- Ranges, temporal trend, and determinants of novel obesity indices in middle-aged and older Chinese population: insights from a nationally representative and longitudinal study.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Assessment of sex disparities in prevalence of diagnosed and undiagnosed diabetes mellitus: results from the Bangladesh demographic and health survey data.BMC endocrine disorders · 2024Article
- Education, urbanicity of residence, and cardiometabolic biomarkers among middle-aged and older populations in the US, Mexico, China, and India.SSM - population health · 2024Article
- Effects of Risk and Time Preferences on Diet Quality: Empirical Evidence from Rural Madagascar.Foods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
43 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Studies of individual countries suggest that socioeconomic status (SES) and weight are positively associated in lower-income countries but negatively associated in higher-income countries. However, this reversal in the direction of the SES-weight relationship and arguments about the underlying causes of the reversal need to be tested with comparable data for a large and diverse set of nations. This study systematically tests the reversal hypothesis using individual- and aggregate-level data for 67 nations representing all regions of the world. In support of the hypothesis, we find not only that the body mass index, being overweight, and being obese rise with national product but also that the associations of SES with these outcomes shift from positive to negative. These findings fit arguments about how health-related, SES-based resources, costs, and values differ across levels of economic development. Although economic and social development can improve health, it can also lead to increasing obesity and widening SES disparities in obesity.
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Registered trials
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