Body Mass Index and Poor Self-Rated Health in 49 Low-Income and Middle-Income Countries, By Sex, 2002–2004

This study investigated whether the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and poor self-rated health differed by sex in low-income countries and middle-income countries. We analyzed data from the World Health Survey (2002–2004) on 160,099 participants from 49 low-income and middle-income countries by using random-intercept multilevel logistic regressions. We found a U-shaped relationship between BMI and poor self-rated health among both sexes in both low-income and middle-income countries, but the relationship differed by sex in strength and direction between low-income countries and middle-income countries. Differential perception of body weight and general health might explain some of the observed sex differences.