Abstract

VASCONCELLOS, Mauricio Teixeira Leite de  and  PORTELA, Margareth Crisóstomo. Body mass index and its relationship to nutritional and socioeconomic variables: a linear regression approach to a Brazilian adult sub-population. Cad. Saúde Pública [online]. 2001, vol.17, n.6, pp. 1425-1436. ISSN 0102-311X.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0102-311X2001000600026.

This paper focuses on the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and family energy intake, occupational energy expenditure, per capita family expenditure, sex, age, and left arm circumference for a group of Brazilian adults randomly selected among those interviewed for a survey on food consumption and family budgets, called the National Family Expenditure Survey. The authors discuss linear regression methodological issues related to treatment of outliers and influential cases, multicollinearity, model specification, heteroscedasticity, as well as the use of two-level variables derived from samples with complex design. The results indicate that the model is not affected by outliers and that there are no significant specification errors. They also show a significant linear relationship between BMI and the variables listed above. Although the hypothesis tests indicate significant heteroscedasticity, its corrections did not significantly change the model's parameters, probably due to the sample size (14,000 adults), making hypothesis tests more rigorous than desired.

Keywords : Body Mass Index; Linear Models; Eating.