Socio-demographic, behavioral and psychological factors associated with high BMI among adults in a Southeast Asian multi-ethnic society: A structural equation model

TY - JOUR

T1 - Socio-demographic, behavioral and psychological factors associated with high BMI among adults in a Southeast Asian multi-ethnic society: A structural equation model

AU - Chew, Han Shi Jocelyn

AU - Loong, Shaun

AU - Lim, Su Lin

AU - Chew, Nicholas WS

AU - Chin, Yip Han

AU - Chao, Ariana M

AU - Dimitriadis, Georgios K

AU - Gao, Yujia

AU - Yan So, Jimmy Bok

AU - Shabbir, Asim

PY - 2023/4/8

Y1 - 2023/4/8

N2 - While various influencing factors of overweight and obesity have been identified, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. We examined the relationships among sociodemographic, behavioral, and psychological factors on anthropometry in a multi-ethnic population with overweight and obesity. Participants (N = 251) were recruited from January to October 2022. Mean age and self-reported BMI were 31.7 ± 10.1 years and 29.2 ± 7.2 kg/m2. Participants were mostly female (52.4%) and overweight (58.2%). Multivariate multiple regression was performed using maximum likelihood estimation. Body mass index was associated with waist circumference, age, sex, race, marital status, education level, residential region, overeating habit, immediate thinking, self-regulation, and physical activity, but not anxiety, depression, or the intention to change eating habits. Final model indicated good fit: χ2 (30, N = 250) = 33.5, p = 0.32, CFI = 0.993, TLI = 0.988, RMSEA = 0.022, and SRMR = 0.041. Direct effects were found between BMI and overeating (β = 0.10, p = 0.004), race (β = −0.82, p < 0.001), marital status (β = −0.42, p = 0.001), and education level (β = −0.28, p = 0.019). Crisps (68.8%), cake (66.8%) and chocolate (65.6%) were identified as the most tempting foods. Immediate thinking indirectly increased overeating habits through poor self-regulation, although sociodemographic characteristics better predicted anthropometry than psycho-behavioral constructs.

AB - While various influencing factors of overweight and obesity have been identified, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. We examined the relationships among sociodemographic, behavioral, and psychological factors on anthropometry in a multi-ethnic population with overweight and obesity. Participants (N = 251) were recruited from January to October 2022. Mean age and self-reported BMI were 31.7 ± 10.1 years and 29.2 ± 7.2 kg/m2. Participants were mostly female (52.4%) and overweight (58.2%). Multivariate multiple regression was performed using maximum likelihood estimation. Body mass index was associated with waist circumference, age, sex, race, marital status, education level, residential region, overeating habit, immediate thinking, self-regulation, and physical activity, but not anxiety, depression, or the intention to change eating habits. Final model indicated good fit: χ2 (30, N = 250) = 33.5, p = 0.32, CFI = 0.993, TLI = 0.988, RMSEA = 0.022, and SRMR = 0.041. Direct effects were found between BMI and overeating (β = 0.10, p = 0.004), race (β = −0.82, p < 0.001), marital status (β = −0.42, p = 0.001), and education level (β = −0.28, p = 0.019). Crisps (68.8%), cake (66.8%) and chocolate (65.6%) were identified as the most tempting foods. Immediate thinking indirectly increased overeating habits through poor self-regulation, although sociodemographic characteristics better predicted anthropometry than psycho-behavioral constructs.

M3 - Article

SN - 2072-6643

JO - Nutrients

JF - Nutrients

ER -