Education protects women from the obesity associated with urban living

Research into the rise in obesity associated with the burgeoning industrial and service sectors in lowand middle-income countries found that education is a key factor in reducing the negative impact on women's health. The study, conducted by researchers at UCL and published in the journal BMC Public Health , found that women with no formal education who were working in sedentary occupations were twice as likely to be 'centrally obese' - defined by measuring waist circumference - compared to women with no education working in agriculture. However, for women with at least some degree of formal education, there was no such association. Educated women in sedentary occupations were no more likely to be centrally obese than educated women with agricultural occupations. More research is required in order to explain our findings but it appears that education may provide cognitive skills that help people make better decisions about their health. Dr Amina Aitsi-Selmi, UCL Epidemiology & Public Health "China, like a number of other emerging economies, is undergoing a rapid economic transition with many people moving from agricultural to manual and service-based jobs in cities," says Dr Amina Aitsi-Selmi, the lead author of the study and a Wellcome Trust fellow at UCL. "Millions of women leave their families of origin for the city to improve their living conditions and life prospects," she continues.