Relationships between social determinants of health and healthy body composition among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth in the Next Generation: Youth Well-being study

Christopher D McKay; Lina Gubhaju; Alison J Gibberd; Bridgette J McNamara; Rona Macniven; Grace Joshy; Aryati Yashadhana; Ted Fields; Robyn Williams; Robert Roseby; Peter Azzopardi; Emily Banks; Sandra J Eades

doi:10.1002/hpja.927

Relationships between social determinants of health and healthy body composition among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth in the Next Generation: Youth Well-being study

Health Promot J Austr. 2024 Sep 30. doi: 10.1002/hpja.927. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Christopher D McKay¹, Lina Gubhaju¹, Alison J Gibberd¹, Bridgette J McNamara¹, Rona Macniven², Grace Joshy³, Aryati Yashadhana^{2

4}, Ted Fields^{2

4}, Robyn Williams⁵, Robert Roseby^{6

7}, Peter Azzopardi^{8

9}, Emily Banks³, Sandra J Eades¹

Affiliations

¹ Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.
² School of Population Health, UNSW, Sydney, Australia.
³ Centre for Public Health Data and Policy, National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, College of Health & Medicine, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.
⁴ Centre for Primary Health Care & Equity, UNSW, Sydney, Australia.
⁵ Curtin Medical School, Curtin University, Perth, Australia.
⁶ Department of Respiratory Medicine, Monash Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia.
⁷ Department of Paediatrics, School of Clinical Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia.
⁸ Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia.
⁹ Telethon Kids Institute, Perth, Australia.

PMID: 39350530
DOI: 10.1002/hpja.927

Abstract

Issue addressed: Little is currently known about the relationships between body composition and the social determinants of health among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth in Australia, which could help inform policy responses to address health inequities.

Methods: This study aimed to explore the relationship between various social factors and healthy body mass index (BMI) and waist/height ratio (WHtR) among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth aged 16-24 years. Baseline survey data from 531 participants of the 'Next Generation: Youth Well-being study' were used. Robust Poisson regression quantified associations between healthy body composition and self-reported individual social factors (education, employment and income, government income support, food insecurity, home environment, relationship status, racism), family factors (caregiver education and employment) and area-level factors (remoteness, socioeconomic status).

Results: Healthy body composition was less common among those living in a crowded home (healthy WHtR aPR 0.67 [0.47-0.96]) and those receiving government income support (healthy BMI aPR 0.74 [0.57-0.95]). It was more common among those with tertiary educated caregivers (healthy BMI aPR 1.84 [1.30-2.61]; healthy WHtR aPR 1.41 [1.05-1.91]) and those in a serious relationship (healthy BMI aPR 1.33 [1.02-1.75]).

Conclusions: Social factors at the individual and family level are associated with healthy body composition among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth. SO WHAT?: The findings of this study highlight the potential for health benefits for youth from policies and programs that address social inequities experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia.

Keywords: Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples; adolescent health; body composition; health inequities; obesity; social determinants of health.

Grants and funding

1089104/National Health and Medical Research Council