Trends in obesity and associations with education and urban or rural residence in Thailand

Objective: To measure trends in the prevalence of overweight and obesity and the relationship with urban or rural residence and education in Thailand. Research Methods and Procedures: Data were from two nationally representative surveys of 38,323 individuals ≥18 years old (19,156 were 18 to 59 years old) in 2004 and 3375 individuals 18 to 59 years old in 1997. Overweight and obesity were defined using the World Health Organization's Asian criteria. Results: Among those ≥18 years old in 2004, 17.8% of men (95% confidence interval, 16.6% to 19.0%) were overweight, 18.4% (17.3% to 19.5%) had Class I obesity, 4.8% (4.1% to 5.5%) had Class II obesity, and 15.9% (14.6% to 17.1%) had abdominal obesity. In women, 18.2% (17.1% to 19.2%) were overweight, 26.1% (24.9% to 27.3%) had Class I obesity, 9.3% (8.6% to 10.0%) had Class II obesity, and 37.3% (35.3% to 39.2%) had abdominal obesity. In those 18 to 59 years old, the prevalence of Class I obesity in men and all four categories in women significantly increased between 1997 and 2004. There was an inverse relationship in women but a positive relationship in men between education and the odds of being overweight or obese. In 2004, there were significantly lower odds of being overweight or obese in rural compared with urban men but similar odds between urban and rural women. Discussion: The prevalence of overweight and obesity in Thailand is high and increasing. Although the transition of overweight and obesity to those of lower socioeconomic status is not complete, it is well on the way.     

Assessing Marine Resource Exploitation in Lofanga,Tonga: One Case Study—Two Approaches

This paper is an attempt to combine the results and conclusions of two independently designed research projects, in order to achieve a more complete understanding of the degree of exploitation of living marine resources by a small Tongan coastal fishing community. Results of a socioeconomic resource-driven survey and an anthropological study adopting a commons dilemma approach, agree substantially on the impact of tradition and changes, but disagree with regard to the driving forces. The socioeconomic study argues that dynamics between traditional and modern economic values best explain the state of the community’s coastal fisheries; while the anthropological study argues that social values and obligations still determine to a great extent the goals people pursue with their economic activities. Current fishing pressure, the marine tenure system, and present and future marketing potentials are all factors which may result in conflict between the traditional Tongan system and the modern cash-based, remittance sustained system. These will ultimately affect the current and future status of coastal resources and the social cohesion of the community.

Exoskeletons and economics: indoor arthropod diversity increases in affluent neighbourhoods

In urban ecosystems, socioeconomics contribute to patterns of biodiversity. The ‘luxury effect’, in which wealthier neighbourhoods are more biologically diverse, has been observed for plants, birds, bats and lizards. Here, we used data from a survey of indoor arthropod diversity (defined throughout as family-level richness) from 50 urban houses and found that house size, surrounding vegetation, as well as mean neighbourhood income best predict the number of kinds of arthropods found indoors. Our finding, that homes in wealthier neighbourhoods host higher indoor arthropod diversity (consisting of primarily non-pest species), shows that the luxury effect can extend to the indoor environment. The effect of mean neighbourhood income on indoor arthropod diversity was particularly strong for individual houses that lacked high surrounding vegetation ground cover, suggesting that neighbourhood dynamics can compensate for local choices of homeowners. Our work suggests that the management of neighbourhoods and cities can have effects on biodiversity that can extend from trees and birds all the way to the arthropod life in bedrooms and basements.     

Factors affecting prevalence of overweight among 12- to 17-year-old urban adolescents in Hyderabad, India

Objective: The problem of overweight and obesity is not confined only to developed countries but is also widely prevalent in developing countries. The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of overweight and obesity as defined by the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) among school‐age children in Hyderabad, India, and identify its associated factors. Research Methods and Procedures: A cross‐sectional and institutional study, adopting a multistage stratified cluster sampling procedure, was carried out during 2003 on adolescents 12 to 17 years of age of both sexes from Hyderabad, India. Results: The overall prevalence of overweight was 6.1% [95% confidence interval (CI): 4.2, 8.0] among boys and 8.2% among girls (CI: 6.0, 10.4); 1.6% and 1.0% were obese, respectively. The prevalence was significantly higher (p < 0.05) among adolescents who watched television ≥3 h/d (10.4%) or belonged to a high socioeconomic background (14.9%, p < 0.001), whereas it was significantly lower among those participating regularly in outdoor games ≥6 h/wk (3.1%, p < 0.004) and household activities ≥3 h/d (4.7%, p < 0.001). The logistic regression analysis revealed that the prevalence of overweight was 4 times higher among the adolescents of high socioeconomic status [odds ratio (OR): 4.1; CI: 2.25, 7.52], 3 times higher in those not participating in outdoor games (OR: 2.75; CI: 1.56, 4.72), and 1.92 times higher in those watching television ≥3 h/d (OR: 1.92; CI: 1.16, 3.18). Discussion: This study confirmed the findings of earlier studies carried out in Western countries and emphasizes that regular physical exercise, doing household activities, regulated television viewing, and healthy eating behaviors could contribute to controlling overweight and obesity.     

Mensch and Mesh

This article discusses several relationships between technologies, industries, and socioeconomic institutions that are central to the emerging field of industrial ecology but as of yet have found little recognition. Special attention is given to the history of changes in the complexity of technologies and socioeconomic institutions, methods for dealing with this complexity conceptually and in the context of decision making, and interrelationships between technology and policy choice at various levels of system organization. On the basis of that discussion, new roles for systems thinking and modeling, systems engineering, and technology and industrial policy are identified to promote the development of industrial ecosystems that minimize their environmental impacts.