Psycho-social factors related to obesity and their associations with socioeconomic characteristics: the RECORD study.

OBJECTIVES

We aimed to describe the main psycho-social factors related to obesity in an adult population and to develop a unified construct (psycho-social profiles), to explore the associations between socioeconomic characteristics and these psycho-social profiles.

METHODS

In its second wave, the RECORD Study assessed 6460 participants aged 30-79 years living in the Paris region between 2011 and 2014. Factor analyses followed by cluster analysis were applied to identify psycho-social profiles related to obesity. The two psycho-social profiles were adverse profile-negative body image, underestimation of the impact of weight in quality of life, low weight-related self-efficacy, and weight-related external locus of control; and favorable profile-positive body image, high self-efficacy, and internal locus of control. The relationship between three socioeconomic dimensions-current socioeconomic status, childhood socioeconomic status, and neighborhood education status-and psycho-social profiles was assessed through binomial logistic regression adjusted for age, gender, depression, living alone, and weight status.

RESULTS

Contrary to hypotheses, there were no associations between socioeconomic characteristics and obesity-related psycho-social profiles after adjustment for body mass index. Depressive symptoms (OR 2.21, 95% CI 2.70, 4.04) and being female (3.31, 95% CI 2.70, 4.40) were associated with an adverse psycho-social profile.

CONCLUSIONS

Psycho-social profiles could help to understand the multifactorial nature of the determinants of obesity.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level V, cross-sectional descriptive study.