The Link Between Socioeconomic Status And Obesity Literature Review

According to Adler (2002), the direct determinant of health in closely related to lifestyle or behavioral factors. These factors lead to about half of premature mortality and habits such as lack of physical activity, tobacco abuse and heavy consumption of alcohol. Due to the existing socioeconomic status, individual of higher learning as well as those earning high incomes are less likely to involve in these unhealthy behaviors. This is because they have better knowledge, skills and resources to improve health. Since behavioral factors are vital in the emergence of many preventable chronic diseases that are associated with obesity, it is important in advancing forward that we target policy that is focused on behavior changes provided of the high connection between negative these health practices and the low-SES (Williams, 2005).
Nevertheless, there is a possibility that the negative connection between the obesity related health conditions and the SES has not actually changed over time. Researcher Mokdad’s (1999) says that the rising levels of obesity across all nations, classes, races and genders. Similarly, there can be unequal number of people with conditions related to obesity belonging to the lower- SES. Although the number has risen at the same rate in relation to other SES groups thus rendering the proportion unchanged.
Different research also point to several external factors which contribute to the decreased energy expenditure and increased caloric intake, which might have as well increased the rates of obesity for all the SES categories of US adults (Zhang 2004). Since food now is faster to make, there has been an enormous increase in the consumption of food overall in the U.S. Additionally, another factor which is contributing to high caloric intake is the rise in portion sizes in processed food packages country wide (Zhang, 2004). In regarding to energy expenditure, numerous social, economic as well as environmental changes have greatly contributed to the decrease of America’s population activity level. There exists important technological advances which have led to more sedentary lifestyles in the U.S (Zhang, 2004).