Educational attainment of offspring and obesity among older adults in China. (October 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Li, Yaoyue; Wang, Guixin; Li, Guofeng
• Is Part Of: Social science & medicine. Volume 286(2021)
• Publication Date: 2021-10
• Subjects: Obesity -- Educational attainment -- Older adults -- Intergenerational effects -- Age variations -- Birth cohort variations -- China; Social medicine -- Periodicals; Medical anthropology -- Periodicals; Public health -- Periodicals; Psychology -- Periodicals; Medicine -- Periodicals; Medicine -- Periodicals; Médecine sociale -- Périodiques; Anthropologie médicale -- Périodiques; Santé publique -- Périodiques; Psychologie -- Périodiques; Médecine -- Périodiques; Electronic journals; 362.105
• DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114325
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0277-9536

Abstract

Abstract: The study focuses on the role of adult offspring's educational attainment in obesity among older adults in China and investigates age and birth cohort heterogeneities in the educational effect. Using the longitudinal data from the 1993–2015 China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS), we employed three-level mixed-effects models and conducted sex-stratified analyses to examine the effects of co-resident offspring's education on body mass index (BMI), overweight, waist circumference (WC), and abdominal obesity among older people born before 1956. After controlling for confounding factors, the overall results showed inverted U-shaped educational gradients in BMI-based outcomes for males and positive gradients for females. The effect of education on WC exhibited an inverted U-shaped pattern for both sexes, but no significant effect on abdominal obesity was found among the overall population. However, further analyses of interaction effects indicated considerable age and cohort variations in the educational effects on obesity outcomes. Offspring's schooling was positively associated with obesity among earlier birth cohorts; Among more recent birth cohorts, especially among females, the educational effects were reversed, and disparities in obesity outcomes across education categories strengthened with age. These findings imply that offspring's education appears to gradually exert a protective role against obesity among Chinese older adults in successive cohorts. Highlights: Examines the role of offspring's education in obesity among Chinese older adults. Employs three-level mixed-effects models to assess the educational effects. Finds that better-educated children may raise the risk of obesity in older people. Indicates age and birth cohort heterogeneities in the educational effects. Offspring's education can be protective against parental obesity in recent cohorts.