by European Congress on Obesity
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New research to be presented at this year’s European Congress on Obesity (ECO 2025, Malaga, Spain, 11–14 May) shows that being married triples the risk of living with obesity for men (but does not increase the risk for women), while it increases the risk of being overweight by 62% in men and 39% in women. The study is by Dr. Alicja Cicha-Mikołajczyk and colleagues from the National Institute of Cardiology, Warsaw, Poland.
The study also found that each year of additional age increased the risk of overweight and obesity in both sexes.
Cardiovascular disease and cancer are among the main causes of death in Poland and indeed all other countries of the world. A large body of research has identified overweight and obesity as risk factors for these conditions. Previous research in Poland (2022) has shown that two thirds (65.6%) of Polish adults are overweight, including 29.2% with obesity. In this new research, the authors looked for relationships between increased body weight and health literacy, sociodemographic and psychosocial risk factors.
The existing medical data of participants of the WOBASZ II Survey were used in the study. The survey (Multi-center National Population Health Examination Survey) tracked general health indicators in Poland. This study allowed the authors to analyze relationship between many risk factors simultaneously. There were 2,405 people (1,098 men, 1,307 women), median age 50 years involved in the study: 35.3% with normal weight, 38.3% with overweight and 26.4% with obesity.
Tests called the Newest Vital Sign Test, the Beck’s Depression Inventory and Berkman & Syme Questionnaire were applied to estimate functional health literacy, depression and social support (frequency of contact with family, friends and relatives, and activity participation), respectively. Statistical analysis was then used to estimate the odds ratio (OR) assigned to selected risk factors.
The authors found most of the respondents had at least secondary education (59%), an adequate health literacy (55%), and at least moderate social support (50%), and 15% of them reported depression. Cardiovascular disease was present in 12%, 18%, and 28% of people with normal weight, overweight and obesity, respectively.
Being married was associated with overweight in both sexes, with a 62% increased risk versus unmarried men, and 39% increased risk versus unmarried women. A much stronger relationship was found for marriage and obesity in men, with married men 3.2 times more likely to live with obesity than unmarried men.
The authors found no statistically significant difference for living with obesity between married and unmarried women, with the authors suggesting the lack of an association for women could be explained by cultural differences in attitudes towards obesity in men and women.
Age was an independent risk factor of overweight and obesity in both sexes. Each year of increased age increased the risk of overweight by 3% in men and 4% in women, and the risk of obesity by 4% in men and 6% in women.
Other interesting findings from the study included women living in communities of less than 8,000 people were 46% more likely to live with obesity and 42% more likely to be overweight. The authors are still analyzing the potential reasons for this, including psychological, social, and environmental factors. No relationship was found between community size and overweight and obesity in men.
In women, having inadequate health literacy increased the risk of obesity by 43% while reporting at least borderline depression doubled the risk of obesity. These relationships were not found in men. The authors could find no statistically significant association between social support and body weight in their analysis.
The authors conclude, “Age and marital status have an undeniable impact on living with overweight or obesity in adulthood regardless of sex. In turn, inadequate health literacy and having at least borderline depression were associated with obesity in women. It appears from our results that the dissemination of health knowledge and health promotion across the lifespan could reduce the worrying phenomenon of increasing levels of obesity.”
Provided by European Congress on Obesity
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