Research
Energy balance
Total cholesterol levels increase with national income, peaking at higher income levels ($18,000) than BMI, and are positively correlated with urbanization.
Monitor cholesterol levels as income rises, particularly in urbanizing areas. Interventions should address dietary fat quality (animal vs. vegetable fats) as income increases.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Cholesterol’s point of inflection and peak were at higher income levels than those of BMI (about I$8,000 and I$18,000, respectively)... The proportion of the population in urban areas was positively correlated with mean BMI and cholesterol.
Why this rating
Cross-country analysis with large sample sizes.
Source
Rethinking the “Diseases of Affluence” Paradigm: Global Patterns of Nutritional Risks in Relation to Economic Development
Majid Ezzati et al. · PLoS Medicine · 2005
DOI 10.1371/journal.pmed.0020133
cross_sectionalCited 622×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Body mass index (BMI) increases rapidly with national income until a threshold of approximately $12,500-$17,000 (international dollars), after which it flattens and eventually declines, contradicting the linear 'diseases of affluence' paradigm.Good
- Systolic blood pressure (SBP) shows no or weak correlation with national income, urbanization, or food expenditure share, remaining high in some low-income countries and variable in high-income countries.Good
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