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Impact of the Economic Crisis on Body Mass Index in Spain : An Intersectional Multilevel Analysis Using a Socioeconomic and Regional Perspective

Hernández-Yumar, Aránzazu LU ; Wemrell, Maria LU orcid ; Abásolo-Alessón, Ignacio ; González López-Valcárcel, Beatriz and Merlo, Juan LU orcid (2023) In Population Research and Policy Review 42(4).
Abstract

The Great Recession hit Spain deteriorating the living conditions of many Spanish people, increasing the prevalence of several chronic health issues, including obesity, and affecting health inequalities. We analyse the impact of this economic crisis on body mass index (BMI) disparities in Spain, from two perspectives: the socioeconomic and the territorial, through the application of an intersectional multilevel analysis of individual heterogeneity and discriminatory accuracy. We use data from the Spanish National Health Surveys of 2006/2007, 2011/2012 and 2016/2017 to build multilevel linear regression models and estimate BMI averages and components of variance. We find a greater increase in the overall average BMI and a widening of the... (More)

The Great Recession hit Spain deteriorating the living conditions of many Spanish people, increasing the prevalence of several chronic health issues, including obesity, and affecting health inequalities. We analyse the impact of this economic crisis on body mass index (BMI) disparities in Spain, from two perspectives: the socioeconomic and the territorial, through the application of an intersectional multilevel analysis of individual heterogeneity and discriminatory accuracy. We use data from the Spanish National Health Surveys of 2006/2007, 2011/2012 and 2016/2017 to build multilevel linear regression models and estimate BMI averages and components of variance. We find a greater increase in the overall average BMI and a widening of the socioeconomic disparities during the hardest years of the crisis. However, these differences decreased when the economic situation in the country began to improve. Both socioeconomic and geographical information contribute to mapping the distribution of BMI in the population. However, according to the ICC values, considering the regional perspective provides a better understanding of the distribution of the BMI, during the period of economic crisis, in the Spanish population. Therefore, regional policies can play an important role in counteracting obesity in times of crisis.

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author
; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Economic crisis, Intersectionality theory, Multilevel analysis, Obesity, Socioeconomic and regional disparities
in
Population Research and Policy Review
volume
42
issue
4
article number
69
publisher
Springer
external identifiers
  • scopus:85165916334
ISSN
0167-5923
DOI
10.1007/s11113-023-09811-0
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
be32797e-e3bd-4cd9-a35b-734f4d27d44e
date added to LUP
2023-11-02 11:32:51
date last changed
2023-11-02 11:32:51
@article{be32797e-e3bd-4cd9-a35b-734f4d27d44e,
  abstract     = {{<p>The Great Recession hit Spain deteriorating the living conditions of many Spanish people, increasing the prevalence of several chronic health issues, including obesity, and affecting health inequalities. We analyse the impact of this economic crisis on body mass index (BMI) disparities in Spain, from two perspectives: the socioeconomic and the territorial, through the application of an intersectional multilevel analysis of individual heterogeneity and discriminatory accuracy. We use data from the Spanish National Health Surveys of 2006/2007, 2011/2012 and 2016/2017 to build multilevel linear regression models and estimate BMI averages and components of variance. We find a greater increase in the overall average BMI and a widening of the socioeconomic disparities during the hardest years of the crisis. However, these differences decreased when the economic situation in the country began to improve. Both socioeconomic and geographical information contribute to mapping the distribution of BMI in the population. However, according to the ICC values, considering the regional perspective provides a better understanding of the distribution of the BMI, during the period of economic crisis, in the Spanish population. Therefore, regional policies can play an important role in counteracting obesity in times of crisis.</p>}},
  author       = {{Hernández-Yumar, Aránzazu and Wemrell, Maria and Abásolo-Alessón, Ignacio and González López-Valcárcel, Beatriz and Merlo, Juan}},
  issn         = {{0167-5923}},
  keywords     = {{Economic crisis; Intersectionality theory; Multilevel analysis; Obesity; Socioeconomic and regional disparities}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{4}},
  publisher    = {{Springer}},
  series       = {{Population Research and Policy Review}},
  title        = {{Impact of the Economic Crisis on Body Mass Index in Spain : An Intersectional Multilevel Analysis Using a Socioeconomic and Regional Perspective}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11113-023-09811-0}},
  doi          = {{10.1007/s11113-023-09811-0}},
  volume       = {{42}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}