Summary
The authors examine whether changes in food prices are associated with changes in obesity prevalence among women in developing countries, and assess effect modification by individual socioeconomic status (SES).
This is a longitudinal study of country-level food price inflation temporally and geographically linked to anthropometric data on non-pregnant adult women in 31 low-income and middle-income countries over the 2000-2014 time period. Post-estimation analysis computed the relationship between food price inflation and predicted mean probabilities of being obese, by SES. The authors found a strong link between food price inflation and obesity in adult women in developing countries which is clearly modified by individuals' SES. Greater food price inflation was associated with greater obesity prevalence only among women in higher SES groups, who may be net food buyers most at risk of obesity in low-income and middle-income countries.
