DETERMINING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DISTINCT OBESITY PREVALENCE GROUPS AND RISK FACTORS BY PANEL RANDOM-EFFECT ORDERED PROBIT MODEL IN TURKEY

Abstract

Aim: The study aimed to analyze the socio-demographic and economic characteristics of families or individuals that can affect the normal weight, overweight, obesity, and severe obesity of the individual determined by the Body Mass Index (BMI) using the panel random-effect ordered Probit model in Turkey. Methods: The analysis used the survey data from the 2016 Turkey Health Research (THR) created by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TSI). The choice of the random-effect model was confirmed by a statistical test. Results: We found that many socio-demographic and economic factors of family members or family significantly affect the probability of obesity groups. For example, considering the change in the age scale of obesity, the probability of being at normal weight decreases as the ages of family members increase, and this condition triggers being overweight, obese, and severely obese as the age progresses. As the family income increases, the individuals become more obese, while the education level of the individuals and the time devoted to walking for more than an hour a day show that the individuals are successful in their maintaining a normal weight. Conclusion: Obesity is an important problem for Turkey and should be tackled effectively. It has been determined that the socio-demographic and economic factors of the individual significantly affect the probability of obesity. Social risk groups that are positively associated with obesity should be identified and awareness training should be given to each group with appropriate methods.