Healthy Weight Knowledge and Body Size Disparities in Chinese Adults

Objectives: This study was an exploration of whether raising the level of knowledge regarding healthy eating and physical activity at all socioeconomic status (SES) levels is vital to reducing the SES gradient in body size disparities. Methods: This study uses longitudinal data with a total of 20,757 person-years drawn from 11,469 households of individuals aged 18-55 who participated in the 2004, 2006, 2009, and 2011 China Health and Nutrition Survey. Linear mixed-effects regression models capture the link among SES, knowledge of healthy eating and physical activity, and body mass index (BMI). All analyses are stratified by sex. Results: The results show there are knowledge gaps among SES groups from 2004-2011 for both men and women. In addition, there is a positive association between knowledge and BMI for men and no association for women. Conversely, the results suggest differentiated effects of knowledge on women's BMI by educational attainment. Conclusions: Current intervention programs that focus on raising knowledge regarding what contributes to a healthy weight are limited to reducing body size disparities; understanding social and gender meanings of ideal body size may be the key to curbing the trend toward obesity disparities in China.