IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v18y2021i20p10620-d653258.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Socioeconomic Status, Institutional Power, and Body Mass Index among Chinese Adults

Author

Listed:
  • Weidong Li

    (Department of Sociology, School of Philosophy and Government, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an 710119, China)

  • Shuzhuo Li

    (Institute for Population and Development Studies, School of Public Policy and Administration, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, China)

  • Marcus W. Feldman

    (Morrison Institute for Population and Resource Studies, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA)

Abstract

Despite the vast literature on the socioeconomic status (SES) gradient of obesity among adult people, no study has investigated the relationship between institutional power and body mass index. Using national survey data from the “China Labor-force Dynamics Survey 2016” (CLDS 2016), multistage cluster-stratified probability proportional to size (PPS) sampling was employed to select cases from 29 provinces, cities, and autonomous regions in China. This study adopts an institutional approach to explore the influences of SES and institutional power on the state of being overweight or severely overweight (obese) among Chinese adults. It is shown that SES has a non-linear influence on being overweight or obese, higher education has a negative effect on being overweight or obese, income has an inverted U-shaped effect on being overweight or obese, and having a managerial or administrative job has a positive effect on being overweight but less so on obesity. These findings reveal that disparities in health outcome and risks are due to inequality in SES. The work unit is a stronger predictor of adults being overweight or obese than occupation. Working in the public sector has a positive effect on being overweight relative to working in the private sector, and only state institutions and government departments have a positive association with obesity. Our results indicate that institutional structure still has effects on individuals’ life chances in the era of China’s market transition.

Suggested Citation

  • Weidong Li & Shuzhuo Li & Marcus W. Feldman, 2021. "Socioeconomic Status, Institutional Power, and Body Mass Index among Chinese Adults," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(20), pages 1-19, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:20:p:10620-:d:653258
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/20/10620/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/20/10620/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. LEVASSEUR Pierre, 2015. "Causal effects of socioeconomic status on central adiposity: Evidence using panel data from urban Mexico," Cahiers du GREThA (2007-2019) 2015-09, Groupe de Recherche en Economie Théorique et Appliquée (GREThA).
    2. Li, Shuanglong & Chen, Yunsong & He, Guangye, 2018. "Laugh and grow fat: Happiness affects body mass index among Urban Chinese adults," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 208(C), pages 55-63.
    3. Marion Devaux & Franco Sassi & Jody Church & Michele Cecchini & Francesca Borgonovi, 2011. "Exploring the Relationship Between Education and Obesity," OECD Journal: Economic Studies, OECD Publishing, vol. 2011(1), pages 1-40.
    4. Suzy Newton & Dejana Braithwaite & Tomi F Akinyemiju, 2017. "Socio-economic status over the life course and obesity: Systematic review and meta-analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(5), pages 1-15, May.
    5. Kim, Young-Joo, 2016. "The long-run effect of education on obesity in the US," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 21(C), pages 100-109.
    6. Levasseur, Pierre, 2015. "Causal effects of socioeconomic status on central adiposity risks: Evidence using panel data from urban Mexico," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 136, pages 165-174.
    7. Stella T Lartey & Costan G Magnussen & Lei Si & Barbara de Graaff & Richard Berko Biritwum & George Mensah & Alfred Yawson & Nadia Minicuci & Paul Kowal & Godfred O Boateng & Andrew J Palmer, 2019. "The role of intergenerational educational mobility and household wealth in adult obesity: Evidence from Wave 2 of the World Health Organization’s Study on global AGEing and adult health," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(1), pages 1-19, January.
    8. Yang, Tse-Chuan & South, Scott J., 2018. "Neighborhood effects on body mass: Temporal and spatial dimensions," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 217(C), pages 45-54.
    9. Alimatou Juwara & Nicole Huang & Li-Ying Chien & Hsin-Jen Chen, 2016. "Stunting and weight statuses of adolescents differ between public and private schools in urban Gambia," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 61(6), pages 717-726, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Wu, Hania Fei, 2021. "Social determination, health selection or indirect selection? Examining the causal directions between socioeconomic status and obesity in the Chinese adult population," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 269(C).
    2. Esposito, Lucio & Villaseñor, Adrián & Rodríguez, Enrique Cuevas & Millett, Christopher, 2020. "The economic gradient of obesity in Mexico: Independent predictive roles of absolute and relative wealth by gender," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 250(C).
    3. Valentina Alvarez-Saavedra & Pierre Levasseur & Suneha Seetahul, 2023. "The Role of Gender Inequality in the Obesity Epidemic: A Case Study from India," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 59(7), pages 980-996, July.
    4. Pierre Levasseur & François Mariotti & Isabelle Denis & Olga Davidenko, 2022. "The association between meat consumption and body mass index varies according to the socioeconomic status in a representative sample of French adults," Working Papers hal-03744721, HAL.
    5. Clément, Matthieu & Levasseur, Pierre & Seetahul, Suneha & Piaser, Lucie, 2021. "Does inequality have a silver lining? Municipal income inequality and obesity in Mexico," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 272(C).
    6. Pierre LEVASSEUR, 2016. "The effects of bodyweight on wages in urban Mexico," Cahiers du GREThA (2007-2019) 2016-18, Groupe de Recherche en Economie Théorique et Appliquée (GREThA).
    7. Bertille Daran & Pierre Levasseur & Matthieu Clément, 2023. "Updating the association between socioeconomic status and obesity in low‐income and lower‐middle‐income sub‐Saharan African countries: A literature review," Post-Print hal-04157386, HAL.
    8. Daran, Bertille & Levasseur, Pierre, 2022. "Is overweight still a problem of rich in sub-Saharan Africa? Insights based on female-oriented demographic and health surveys," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 25(C).
    9. Levasseur, Pierre, 2017. "The ambiguous causal relationship between body-mass and labour income in emerging economies: The case of Mexico," MPRA Paper 81933, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Levasseur, Pierre, 2019. "Can social programs break the vicious cycle between poverty and obesity? Evidence from urban Mexico," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 143-156.
    11. Benson, Rebecca & von Hippel, Paul T. & Lynch, Jamie L., 2018. "Does more education cause lower BMI, or do lower-BMI individuals become more educated? Evidence from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 211(C), pages 370-377.
    12. Black, Sandra E. & Devereux, Paul J. & Salvanes, Kjell G., 2016. "Healthy(?), wealthy, and wise: Birth order and adult health," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 23(C), pages 27-45.
    13. Chen, Yuanyuan & Wang, Haining & Cheng, Zhiming & Smyth, Russell, 2023. "Education and Migrant Health in China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    14. Dolton, Peter & Xiao, Mimi, 2017. "The intergenerational transmission of body mass index across countries," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 140-152.
    15. Aysit Tansel & Ceyhan Ozturk & Erkan Erdil, 2021. "The Impact of Body Mass Index on Growth, Schooling, Productivity, and Savings: A Cross-Country Study," Koç University-TUSIAD Economic Research Forum Working Papers 2118, Koc University-TUSIAD Economic Research Forum.
    16. Helmuth Cremer & Catarina Goulão & Jean-Marie Lozachmeur, 2019. "Soda tax incidence and design under monopoly," CESifo Working Paper Series 7525, CESifo.
    17. Cremer, Helmuth & Goulão, Catarina & Roeder, Kerstin, 2016. "Earmarking and the political support of fat taxes," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 258-267.
    18. Kamila Kholmatova & Alexandra Krettek & David A. Leon & Sofia Malyutina & Sarah Cook & Laila A. Hopstock & Ola Løvsletten & Alexander V. Kudryavtsev, 2022. "Obesity Prevalence and Associated Socio-Demographic Characteristics and Health Behaviors in Russia and Norway," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(15), pages 1-21, August.
    19. Dursun, Bahadır & Cesur, Resul & Mocan, Naci, 2018. "The Impact of Education on Health Outcomes and Behaviors in a Middle-Income, Low-Education Country," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 94-114.
    20. Miloš Ž. Maksimović & Jelena M. Gudelj Rakić & Hristina D. Vlajinac & Nadja D. Vasiljević & Jelena M. Marinković, 2016. "Relationship between health behaviour and body mass index in the Serbian adult population: data from National Health Survey 2013," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 61(1), pages 57-68, January.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:20:p:10620-:d:653258. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.