Clustering of sociodemographic and lifestyle factors among adults with excess weight in a multilingual country

Abstract

Objective The aim of this study was to identify and cluster potential sociodemographic and lifestyle determinants of excess weight (body mass index ≥ 25 kg/m2) in Switzerland. Methods Participants of the cross-sectional National Nutrition Survey menuCH (2014–2015, n = 2057) were categorized according to body mass index. Logistic regressions were conducted with sociodemographic (age, language region, education, household income, household status) and lifestyle factors (smoking, self-rated health status, physical activity, energy intake, Alternate Healthy Eating Index) to identify determinants of excess weight. Factorial analysis and clustering were applied to identify patterns among individuals with excess weight (n = 891). Results Poor or very poor self-rated health status and low levels of physical activity were associated with increased odds for obesity in men (odds ratio [OR] = 5.39 [95% confidence interval = 5.30–5.48], OR = 2.51 [2.14–2.95], respectively) and women (OR = 12.40 [11.59-13.26], OR = 4.83 [3.04–7.67], respectively). In both sexes, the Alternate Healthy Eating Index score was inversely associated with the probability of having obesity. Cluster analysis identified four distinct patterns: “young living with parents” (14.6%), “men with high educational level” (41.5%), “women living alone” (34.9%), and “low educational level and Italian language region” (9.0%). Conclusions We identified four discrete subgroups of individuals with excess weight who differed by sociodemographic and lifestyle factors. Such subgroups may prove useful for targeted public health interventions.