In our sample, only central obesity was associated with educational level: individuals at the
three intermediary levels were significantly more frequently obese than the better educated, but
not the less educated. This result differs from those obtained in Europe and in the USA where
educational inequalities are related with increased BMI, people with lower educational levels
being more likely to be obese [56,57]. This result indicates that the epidemiological transition–
characterized by the transfer of chronic disease risk factors from more educated people in the
early stages of the process to the least educated toward the end of the transition [58]–is currently at an advanced stage in Dakar, but not entirely completed.