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Association Between Educational Attainment and Overweight/Obesity in Eight South Asian Countries: A Systematic Review

R. Dev,Zoe R. O’Neill,C. Norris,V. Raparelli,Swarnali Sarkar,L. Pilote

Published 2026 in Asia-Pacific journal of public health

ABSTRACT

The prevalence of overweight/obesity (OW/OB-defined by body mass index) in low- and middle-income countries is rising, and the sociodemographic characteristics of the most affected populations are changing. The relationship between education, widely recognized as a gender-related variable, and OW/OB in high-income countries is well understood; however, the impact in South Asian (SA) countries is less clear. This systematic review interrogated the relationship between educational attainment and OW/OB, by searching Ovid MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE, and Web of Science for studies published after 2013, reporting the prevalence of OW/OB by educational attainment in eight SA countries. Data were extracted and the association between education and OW/OB was coded as direct, indirect, null, or U-shaped. A total of 32 studies were included in the review. The mean age was 38.5 years. The prevalence of OW/OB ranged between 4.6% and 64.4%. Females were reported to be at higher risk of OW/OB compared with males. Most of the studies reported women with higher education at greater risk of being OW/OB. SA countries are undergoing substantial transformations in their economic and social frameworks that influence how sex and gender mediate cardiovascular risk factors like OW/OB. Preventive strategies must be tailored to the unique characteristics of the SA population.

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