Relationship between Overweight and Socioeconomic Factors in Korean Adolescents: Using Data from the 2007 Korean Youth's Risk Behavior Web-based Study / 가정의학회지

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Overweight in Korean adolescents has continuously increased over the past few years and it is recognized as a public health problem. We investigated the relationship between socioeconomic status and overweight in Korean adolescents. METHODS: The data was obtained from the 2007 Korean Youth's Risk Behavior Web-based Study. We included adolescents aged 12 to 18 yearswho were > or = 5th percentile of the BMI cut-off point based on the Korean child growth curve. Logistic regression analysis was performed to examine the association between socioeconomic status and overweight. RESULTS: The adjusted odds ratios for overweight were 1.116 (95% confidence interval [CI],1.021 to 1.220), 1.390 (95% CI, 1.242 to 1.555) in girls having middle and low grade family affluence scale (FAS), respectively, compared in girls having high grade FAS (P < 0.05). However, in boys, there was no significant relationship between FAS and overweight. In both gender, perceived household economic status and parental education level were negatively related to overweight in adolescents (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Lower socioeconomic status increased the risk of overweight in Korean adolescents. Efforts to reduce socioeconomic disparities in adolescents should be initiated for overweight prevention.