Tuesday, January 25, 2011

[EQ] Weight of nations: a socioeconomic analysis of women in low- to middle-income countries

Weight of nations:
a socioeconomic analysis of women in low- to middle-income countries



SV Subramanian, Jessica M Perkins, Emre Özaltin, and George Davey Smith

From the Department of Society, Human Development and Health (SVS), and the Department of Global Health and Population (EC), Harvard School of Public Health; the Department of Health Policy, Harvard University (JMP); and the Department of Social Medicine, Bristol University, Bristol, United Kingdom (GDS).
Am J Clin Nutr 2011;93:413–21. - 2011 American Society for Nutrition

Website: http://bit.ly/f8USKS


“…..Weights of individuals in developing countries have shown an upward shift with corresponding increases in prevalence of overweight and obesity in developing countries (1–5). These overall assessments, however, mask the substantial variation within and between developing countries, especially along socioeconomic dimensions (2). In several developing countries (6–11), weight status is positively associated with socioeconomic status (SES), which is in stark contrast to the patterns observed in developed countries (12–16).

 

It has been hypothesized that the association between SES and weight within countries is contingent on the country's overall level of economic development, with the prevalence of overweight shifting from high to low socioeconomic groups in countries at higher levels of economic development (17–19). A review of 333 studies showed a gradual reversal of the social gradient in weight, in which the proportion of positive associations between SES and weight increased (and the proportion of negative associations decreased) when moving from countries ranked high to medium to low in development (20).

 

However, the review also showed that for women in low- and middle-income countries, a positive association between SES and weight was the most common pattern. Furthermore, in a sample of 41 countries, obesity was observed to be most prevalent in the richest quintile, although this was based on self-reported height and weight data (21).

 

Despite the increasing prevalence of overweight in developing countries (22), and the policy relevance of ascertaining who is more likely to be burdened with the problem of overweight, there is limited systematic evidence on the association between SES and weight in developing countries….”

“…The distributive aspects of BMI and overweight by socioeconomic groups need to be central to the deliberations and development of appropriate policy responses to improving nutritional status of populations in developing countries. …” [au]….”


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[EQ] UNESCO Science Report 2010

UNESCO’s Science Report 2010

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, Paris, France

UNESCO 2010

Available online PDF [ 541p.] at: http://bit.ly/dVuo1j

 

“….UNESCO Science Report 2010 analyses the trends and developments that have shaped scientific research, innovation and higher education over the past five years, including the impact of the current global economic recession, which has hit the Triad harder than either Brazil, China or India.

The report depicts an increasingly competitive environment, one in which the flow of information, knowledge, personnel and investment has become a two-way traffic. Both China and India, for instance, are using their newfound economic might to invest in high-tech companies in Europe and elsewhere to acquire technological expertise overnight. Other large emerging economies are also spending more on research and development than before, among them Brazil, Mexico, South Africa and Turkey.

If more countries are participating in science, we are also seeing a shift in global influence. China is a hair’s breadth away from counting more researchers than either the USA or the European Union, for instance, and now publishes more scientific articles than Japan.

Even countries with a lesser scientific capacity are finding that they can acquire, adopt and sometimes even transform existing technology and thereby ‘leapfrog’ over certain costly investments, such as infrastructure like land lines for telephones. Technological progress is allowing these countries to produce more knowledge and participate more actively than before in international networks and research partnerships with countries in both North and South.

This trend is fostering a democratization of science worldwide. In turn, science diplomacy is becoming a key instrument of peace-building and sustainable development in international relations. ….”

 Download chapters in PDF format:

*                               Contents

*                               List of Illustrations

*                               Foreword

*                               The growing role of knowledge in the global economy

*                               United States of America

*                               Canada

*                               Latin America

*                               Brazil

*                               Cuba

*                               The CARICOM countries

*                               European Union

*                               Southeast Europe

*                               Turkey

*                               Russian Federation

*                               Central Asia

*                               Arab States

*                               Sub-Saharan Africa

*                               South Asia

*                               Iran

*                               India

*                               China

*                               Japan

*                               Republic of Korea

*                               Southeast Asia and Oceania

*                               Annexes

Statistical annex

Table 1 GERD as a percentage of GDP, 2000–2008

Table 2 GERD in purchasing power parity dollars, 2002 and 2007

Table 3 GERD by performing sector and source of funds, 2002 and 2007 (%)

Table 4 Total researchers and per million inhabitants, 2002 and 2007

Table 5 Scientific publications by country, 2000–2008

Table 6 Publications by major field of science, 2002 and 2008

Table 7 Scientific publications in international collaboration, 2002–2008
Table 8 International trade in high-tech products, 2002 and 2007


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This message from the Pan American Health Organization, PAHO/WHO, is part of an effort to disseminate
information Related to: Equity; Health inequality; Socioeconomic inequality in health; Socioeconomic
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Tomorrow [EQ] PAHO/WHO Lecture online: Chronic Disease: the real epidemic - Wednesday 26 January 2011

PAHO/WHO Guest Speaker Lecture on Chronic Disease Epidemiology

Prof. Robert A. Spasoff, Emeritus Professor, Ottawa University, Epidemiology & Community Medicine

Title:  Chronic Disease: the real epidemic


Wednesday 26 January 2011


Time:  9:00 am – 10:30 am —  Room C - WDC Time


To check local time in WDC against your time zone, see the World Clock at:

http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/meeting.html

Language: English and Spanish - Simultaneous translation will be available

To participate in person:

Pan American Health Organization, PAHO/WHO

525 23rd. St. N.W. Washington DC 20037 Room C


To participate online via Elluminate:

To login to the Elluminate session, use the link below and type your name on the sign in page:

English: http://bit.ly/dYvr2w


Spanish: http://bit.ly/gEEPdy 



Agenda

09-00 – 09:10  Welcome Remarks.

                      Dr. Marcos Antonio Espinal. Manager, Health Surveillance, Disease Prevention and Control, PAHO/WHO

09:10 – 09:55 Lecture by Dr. Robert Spasoff; Emeritus Professor of Epidemiology and Community Medicine; Ottawa University

                     Chronic Disease: the real epidemic

Main Points:

•           Chronic disease is big, and will become much bigger

•           Approaches to controlling chronic disease: emphasis on prevention

•           We should be careful about what we prevent!

•           What else should we do?


09:55 – 10:30 Discussion; Moderator

                     Dr. James Hospedales, Project Coordinator, Prevention & Control of Chronic Diseases, PAHO


10:30             Adjourn

Contact:  email - Dr. Oscar Mujica mujicaos@paho.org

This webinar will be conducted in English and Spanish with simultaneous translation  using the Elluminate Live!® platform. You will need a computer with Internet access and speakers. A microphone is optional. Elluminate will prompt you to install Java Web Start (free) as needed.

To adjust webinar start time to your time zone, consult: www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/meeting.html. For some attendees, this could mean the next day in your part of the world.


 

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This message from the Pan American Health Organization, PAHO/WHO, is part of an effort to disseminate
information Related to: Equity; Health inequality; Socioeconomic inequality in health; Socioeconomic
health differentials; Gender; Violence; Poverty; Health Economics; Health Legislation; Ethnicity; Ethics;
Information Technology - Virtual libraries; Research & Science issues.  [DD/ KMC Area]
Washington DC USA

“Materials provided in this electronic list are provided "as is". Unless expressly stated otherwise, the findings
and interpretations included in the Materials are those of the authors and not necessarily of The Pan American
Health Organization PAHO/WHO or its country members”.
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