Socioeconomic Position at Different Stages of the Life Course and Its Influence on Body Weight and Weight Gain in Adulthood: A Longitudinal Study With 13‐Year Follow‐up

Mar 22, 2008Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.)

How social and economic status at different life stages relates to adult body weight and weight gain over 13 years

AI simplified

Circadian Biology on OpenScience ↗PubMed ↗DOI ↗

Abstract

Among 1,465 participants, childhood socioeconomic position significantly influenced women's BMI and weight gain compared to adulthood socioeconomic position.

Women from disadvantaged childhood backgrounds had a higher BMI and were more likely to be overweight or obese at baseline.
Women with lower childhood socioeconomic status gained significantly more weight between 1991 and 2004.
For men, adulthood socioeconomic position had a greater impact on BMI and overweight status at baseline.
Men from disadvantaged households also gained significantly more weight from 1991 to 2004.
The findings indicate that critical periods in childhood and adulthood have different effects on body weight for men and women.

AI simplified

Socioeconomic inequalities in body weight have been demonstrated in numerous cross-sectional studies; however, little research has investigated these inequalities from a life course and longitudinal perspective. We examined the association between child- and adulthood socioeconomic position (SEP) and BMI and overweight/obesity in 1991 (baseline) and changes in BMI and the prevalence of overweight and obesity between 1991 and 2004. Data from the 1991 and 2004 waves of the longitudinal Dutch GLOBE study were used. Participants (n = 1,465) were aged 40-60 years at baseline. BMI was calculated from self-reported height and weight collected by postal questionnaire. Retrospective recall of father's occupation was used as childhood socioeconomic indicator, and adulthood SEP was measured by the occupation of the main income earner of the household. The findings showed that among women, childhood SEP exerted a greater influence on body weight than SEP in adulthood: at baseline, women from disadvantaged backgrounds in childhood had a higher BMI and were more likely to be overweight or obese, and they gained significantly more weight between baseline and follow-up. In contrast, adult SEP had a greater impact than childhood circumstances on men's body weight: those from disadvantaged households had a higher mean BMI and were more likely to be overweight or obese at baseline, and they gained significantly more weight between 1991 and 2004. The findings suggest that exposure to disadvantaged circumstances at critically important periods of the life course is associated with body weight and weight gain in adulthood. Importantly, these etiologically relevant periods differ for men and women, suggesting gender-specific pathways to socioeconomic inequalities in body weight in adulthood.

Full Text

Full text is available at the source.

View full text ↗View full text (PDF) ↗

Socioeconomic Position at Different Stages of the Life Course and Its Influence on Body Weight and Weight Gain in Adulthood: A Longitudinal Study With 13‐Year Follow‐up

Abstract

Full Text

You found one interesting study. We’ll send the next 7.

what lands in your inbox each week:

Recent issues from the circadian biology brief

Abstract

Full Text

Related papers

You found one interesting study. We’ll send the next 7.

what lands in your inbox each week:

Recent issues from the circadian biology brief