The differential effect of education and occupation on body mass and overweight in a sample of working people of the general population

PURPOSE: To assess whether two indicators of social class, education and oc cupation, have independent and/or synergistic effects in determining the bo dy mass and overweight. METHODS: Body mass index (BMI), education, and occupation were assessed in a survey of 1767 men and 1268 women from a representative sample of current ly working people of the general population of Geneva, Switzerland. Educati on and occupation were categorized as low, medium, and high. Over weight wa s defined as BMI greater than or equal to 25 kg/m(2) RESULTS: The prevalence of overweight was 52.1% in men and 28.7% in women. Men with overweight were more likely to have low education while women with overweight had lower education and lower occupation. Education and occupat ion were inversely related to BMI in both genders and, in women, had a syne rgistic effect (p-value for the interaction = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: Education and occupation have independent and, in women, syner gistic effects on BMI. The two indicators may express different mechanisms through which low social class is related to high body mass. (C) 2000 Elsev ier Science Inc. All rights reserved.