Healthy eating, schooling and being overweight among low-income women

The scope of this study was to analyze the factors associated with the prevalence of being overweight and obesity in a population of low-income adult women living in a metropolitan region and its association with socioeconomic, demographic, reproductive and lifestyle variables, highlighting the importance of healthy eating. A population-based, cross-sectional study was conducted with a random sample of 758 women aged 20 or older living in Campos Eliseos - Duque de Caxias - State of Rio de Janeiro. Bivariate and multivariate hierarchical regression was used to identify factors associated with overweight and obesity. A prevalence of 23% of obesity was found, and a prevalence of 56% of being overweight and obesity combined. An inverse association was found between years of study, being overweight and obesity. Most of the women reported having a healthy diet (73.6%) that increased positively with income, education and age. Failure to consume vegetables weekly was associated with being overweight and not having a healthy diet was associated with obesity. The results of this study demonstrate that even in low-income populations, a higher level of education has an impact on prevention of this problem and in food choices.