Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-mp689 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-24T05:17:51.799Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND OBESITY IN EGYPTIAN WOMEN

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 September 2010

KATHRYN M. YOUNT  and
LI LI
KATHRYN M. YOUNT
Affiliation:
Departments of Global Health and Sociology, Emory University, Atlanta, USA
LI LI
Affiliation:
Department of Biostatistics, Emory University, Atlanta, USA
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Domestic violence and obesity are global public health problems. This study explores associations of domestic violence and obesity in 5015 ever-married, non-pregnant women aged 15–49 years who took part in the 2005 Egypt Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS). Women's mean body mass index (BMI) was 30.4 kg/m2, and 48% were obese. Thirty-seven per cent reported any prior psychological, physical or sexual domestic violence. Compared with their counterparts, the adjusted odds of being obese were marginally higher among women who reported any prior sexual (aOR=1.31), physical or sexual (aOR=1.18), or psychological, physical or sexual (aOR=1.17) domestic violence. Women who experienced severe or repeated domestic violence – as measured by reported exposure to three or more acts of physical (aOR=1.25), psychological or physical (aOR=1.18), physical or sexual (aOR=1.36), and psychological, physical or sexual (aOR=1.26) domestic violence – had higher adjusted odds of being obese. Marginally significant adjusted dose–response relationships remained between obesity and the number of specific acts of: (1) physical or sexual violence and (2) psychological, physical or sexual domestic violence. Obesity among women in poorer settings like Egypt may partly have its roots in gender subordination, as manifested in women's exposure to multiple acts of domestic violence.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 43 , Issue 1 , January 2011 , pp. 85 - 99
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ackard, D. M. & Neumark-Sztainer, D. (2002) Date violence and date rape among adolescents: associations with disordered eating behaviors and psychological health. Child Abuse & Neglect 26(5), 455–473.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ackerson, L. K. & Subramanian, S. V. (2008) Domestic violence and chronic malnutrition among women and children in India. American Journal of Epidemiology 167(10), 1188–1196.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Alvarez, J., Pavao, J., Baumrind, N. & Kimerling, R. (2007) The relationship between child abuse and adult obesity among California women. American Journal of Preventive Medicine 33(1), 28–33.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ammar, N. H. (2006) Beyond the shadows: Domestic spousal violence in a “democratizing” Egypt. Trauma, Violence & Abuse 7(4), 244–259.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bailey, B. A. & Daugherty, R. A. (2007) Intimate partner violence during pregnancy: incidence and associated health behaviors in a rural population. Maternal Child Health Journal 11(5), 495–503.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Batnitzky, A. (2008) Obesity and household roles: gender and social class in Morocco. Sociology of Health & Illness 30(3), 445–462.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Boy, A. & Salihu, H. M. (2004) Intimate partner violence and birth outcomes: a systematic review. International Journal of Fertility and Women's Medicine 49(4), 159–164.Google ScholarPubMed
Campbell, J., Snow Jones, A., Dienemann, J., Kub, J., Schollenberger, J., O'Campo, P., Carlson Gielen, A. & Wynne, C. (2002) Intimate partner violence and physical health consequences. Archives of Internal Medicine 162(10), 1157–1163.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Coccurello, R., D'Amato, F. & Mole, A. (2009) Chronic social stress, hedonism and vulnerability to obesity: lessons from rodents. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews 33, 537–550.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Douki, S., Nacef, F., Belhadj, A., Bouasker, A. & Ghachem, R. (2003) Violence against women in Arab and Islamic countries. Archives of Women's Mental Health 6, 165–171.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dutton, M. A., Green, B. L., Kaltman, S. I., Roesch, D. M., Zeffiro, T. A. & Krause, E. D. (2006) Intimate partner violence, PTSD, and adverse health outcomes. Journal of Interpersonal Violence 21(7), 955–968.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ellsberg, M., Jansen, H. A., Heise, L., Watts, C. H. & Garcia-Moreno., C. (2008) WHO multi-country study on women's health and domestic violence against women study team. Intimate partner violence and women's physical and mental health in the WHO multi-country study on women's health and domestic violence: an observational study. Lancet 371(9619), 1165–1672.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
El-Zanaty, F., Hussein, E. M., Shawky, G. A., Way, A. A. & Kishor, S. (1996) Egypt Demographic and Health Survey 1995. Macro International, Inc., Calverton, MD.Google Scholar
El-Zanaty, F. & Way, A. A. (2001) Egypt Demographic and Health Survey 2000. Macro International, Inc., Calverton, MD.Google Scholar
El-Zanaty, F. & Way, A. A. (2006) Egypt Demographic and Health Survey 2005. Ministry of Health and Population, National Population Council, El-Zanaty and Associates, and ORC Macro, Cairo, Egypt.Google Scholar
ESCWA (2002) Women and Men in the Arab Countries: Employment. March, 2002. ESCWA/STAT/ 2002/1.Google Scholar
Filmer, D. & Pritchett, L. (1999) The effect of household wealth on educational attainment: evidence from 35 countries. Population and Development Review 25, 85–120.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fischbach, R. L. & Berbert, B. (1997) Domestic violence and mental health: correlates and conundrums within and across cultures. Social Science & Medicine 45, 1161–1176.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Frayne, S. M., Skinner, K. M., Sullivan, L. M. & Freund, K. M. (2003) Sexual assault while in the military: violence as a predictor of cardiac risk? Violence and Victims 18(2), 219–225.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Garcia-Moreno, C., Jansen, H. F. M., Ellsberg, M., Heise, L. & Watts, C. H. (2006) Prevalence of intimate partner violence: findings from the WHO multi-country study on women's health and domestic violence. Lancet 368, 1260–1269.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Greenfield, E. A. & Marks, N. F. (2009) Violence from parents in childhood and obesity in adult-hood: using food in response to stress as a mediator of risk. Social Science & Medicine 68(5), 791–798.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guthold, R., Ono, T., Strong, K. L., Chatterji, S. & Morabia, A. (2008) Worldwide variability in physical inactivity: a 51-country survey. American Journal of Preventative Medicine 34(6), 486–494.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hamby, S., Sugarman, D. B. & Boney-McCoy, S. (2006) Does questionnaire format impact reported partner violence rates? An experimental study. Violence and Victims 21(4), 507–518.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Holden, G. W. (2003) Children exposed to domestic violence and child abuse: terminology and taxonomy. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review 6(3), 151–160.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hurwitz, E. J., Gupta, J., Liu, R., Silverman, J. G. & Raj, A. (2006) Intimate partner violence associated with poor health outcomes in U.S. south Asian women. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health 8(3), 251–261.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
ICF Macro (2010) Surveys with the Domestic Violence Module. URL: http://www.measuredhs.com/topics/gender/dv_surveys.cfm.Google Scholar
James, P. T., Leach, R., Kalamara, E. & Shayeghi, M. (2001) The worldwide obesity epidemic. Obesity Research 9(4), 228–233S.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Johnson, P. J., Hellerstedt, W. L. & Pirie, P. L. (2002) Abuse history and non-optimal prenatal weight gain. Public Health Reports 117, 148–156.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kearney, M. H., Haggerty, L. A., Munro, B. H. & Kawkins, J. W. (2002) Birth outcomes and maternal morbidity in abused pregnant women with public versus private health insurance. Journal of Nursing Scholarship 35(4), 345–349.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kim, S. A., Yount, K. M., Ramakrishnan, U. & Martorell, R. (2007) The relationship between parity and overweight varies with household wealth and national development. International Journal of Epidemiology 36(1), 93–101.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lenz, M., Richter, T. & Mühlhauser, I. (2009) The morbidity and mortality associated with overweight and obesity in adulthood: a systematic review. Deutsches Aerzteblatt International 106(40), 641–648.Google ScholarPubMed
Liang, K. Y. & Zeger, S. L. (1986) Longitudinal data analysis using generalized estimating equations. Biometrika 73, 13–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mabry, R. M., Reeves, M. M., Eakin, E. G. & Owen, N. (2009) Evidence of physical activity participation among men and women in the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council: a review. Obesity Reviews. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-789X.2010.00740.x.Google ScholarPubMed
McNutt, L. A., Carlson, B. E., Persaud, M. & Postmus, J. (2002) Cumulative abuse experiences, physical health, and health behaviors. Annals of Epidemiology 12(2), 123–130.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Marmot, M. (2004) The Status Syndrome: How Social Standing Affects our Health and Longevity. Time Books, New York.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marmot, M. (2006) The status syndrome: a challenge to medicine. Journal of the American Medical Association 295(11), 1304–1307.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
ORC Macro (2002) Interviewer's Manual for Use with Model “A” Questionnaire for High Contraceptive Prevalence Countries. MEASURE DHS+ Basic Documentation No. 3. ORC Macro, Calverton, MA.Google Scholar
Patel, V., Kirkwood, B. R., Weiss, H., Pednekar, S., Fernandes, J., Pereira, B., Upadhye, M. & Mabey, D. (2005) Chronic fatigue in developing countries: population based survey of women in India. British Medical Journal 330(7501), 1190.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Popkin, B. M. (2001) The nutrition transition and obesity in the developing world. Journal of Nutrition 131, 871–873S.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rodriguez, M., Perez, V. & Garcia, Y. (2005) Impact of traumatic experiences and violent acts upon response to treatment of a sample of Colombian women with eating disorders. International Journal of Eating Disorders 37(4), 299–306.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Safir, M. P., Flaisher-Kellner, S. & Rosenmann, A. (2005) When gender differences surpass cultural differences in personal satisfaction with body shape in Israeli college students. Sex Roles 52(5/6), 369–378.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sethuraman, K., Lansdown, R. & Sullivan, K.. (2006) Women's empowerment and domestic violence: the role of sociocultural determinants in maternal and child undernutrition in tribal and rural communities in South India. Food and Nutrition Bulletin 27(2), 128–143.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Silverman, J. G., Raj, A., Mucci, L. A. & Hathaway, J. E. (2001) Dating violence against adolescent girls and associated substance use, unhealthy weight control, sexual risk behavior, pregnancy, and suicidality. Journal of the American Medical Association 286(5), 572–579.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Straus, M. A. (2004) Prevalence of violence against dating partners by male and female university students worldwide. Violence against Women 10, 790–811.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Straus, M. A., Hamby, S. L., Boney-Mccoy, S. & Sugarman, D. B. (1996) The revised conflict tactics scale (CTS2). Development and preliminary psychometric data. Journal of Family Issues 17(3), 283–316.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Swan, S. C., Gambone, L. J., Caldwell, J. E., Sullivan, T. P. & Snow, D. L. (2008) A review of research on women's use of violence with male intimate partners. Violence and Victims 23, 301–314.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) & Institute for National Planning (INP) (2005) Egypt 2005 Human Development Report. UNDP, Cairo.Google Scholar
Watts, C. & Zimmerman, C. (2002) Violence against women: global scope and magnitude. Lancet 359, 1232–1237.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
WHO (2001) Putting Women First: Ethical and Safety Recommendations for Research on Domestic Violence against Women. WHO, Geneva.Google Scholar
WHO (2005) Preventing Chronic Diseases: A Vital Investment. WHO, Geneva.Google Scholar
Williamson, D. F., Thompson, T. J., Anda, R. F., Dietz, W. H. & Felitti, V. (2002) Body weight and obesity in adults and self-reported abuse in childhood. International Journal of Obesity 26(8), 1075–1082.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
World Bank (2004) Gender and Development in the Middle East and North Africa. World Bank, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
World Bank Group (2002) Gender Stats: Database of Gender Statistics. URL: http://go.worldbank.org/ RVF58C9P40.Google Scholar
Yount, K. M. (2005a) Resources, family organization, and violence against married women in Minya, Egypt. Journal of Marriage and Family 67(3), 579–596.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yount, K. M. (2005b) Women's family power and gender preference in Minya, Egypt. Journal of Marriage and Family 67(2), 410–428.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yount, K. M. & Li, Li (2009) Women's ‘justification’ of domestic violence in Egypt. Journal of Marriage and Family 71, 1125–1140.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yount, K. M. Gender and health in the Middle East. In Jabbour, S., Nuwayhid, I., Khawaja, M. & Giacaman, R. (eds) Public Health in the Middle East. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (forthcoming).Google Scholar
Yount, K. M.Domestic violence against married women in Egypt. Sex Roles (in press).Google Scholar