Dataset Information

The Long-Term Effects of Stress on Partner Weight Characteristics.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Recent experimental evidence suggests that stressed males find heavier women more attractive than non-stressed males. The aim of this study is to examine whether these results also appear in actual mating patterns of adults from a national sample.

Methods

Regression analysis linking partner weight measures to own measures of childhood stress, as measured by mistreatment. Cross-sectional data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, Romantic Partners Sample is used to measure partner weight, childhood stressful events, and socio-demographic characteristics. Childhood experiences of adult mistreatment are retrospectively collected.

Results

Men who experienced childhood mistreatment are more likely to have obese female partners during young adulthood. The results are strongest for interactions with social services, adult neglect and physical abuse. We also present novel evidence of the opposite association in similarly stressed women whose male partners are more likely to be thin.

Conclusions

These results suggest that preferences for partner characteristics are sensitive to histories of stress and that previously hypothesized patterns occur outside the experimental setting.

SUBMITTER: Fletcher JM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3694100 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

The Long-Term Effects of Stress on Partner Weight Characteristics.

Fletcher Jason M JM Tefft Nathan N

PloS one 20130626 6

<h4>Background</h4>Recent experimental evidence suggests that stressed males find heavier women more attractive than non-stressed males. The aim of this study is to examine whether these results also appear in actual mating patterns of adults from a national sample.<h4>Methods</h4>Regression analysis linking partner weight measures to own measures of childhood stress, as measured by mistreatment. Cross-sectional data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, Romantic Partners Sa ...[more]

PMID: 23840447

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Project description:Background: Partner support is associated with better weight loss outcomes in observational studies, but randomized trials show mixed results for including partners. Unclear is whether teaching communication skills to couples will improve weight loss in index participants. Purpose: To compare the efficacy of a partner-assisted intervention versus participant-only weight management program on long-term weight loss. Methods: This community-based study took place in Madison, WI. Index participants were eligible if they met obesity guideline criteria to receive weight loss counseling, were aged 74 years or younger, lived with a partner, and had no medical contraindications to weight loss; partners were aged 74 years or younger and not underweight. Couples were randomized 1:1 to a partner-assisted or participant-only intervention. Index participants in both arms received an evidence-based weight management program. In the partner-assisted arm, partners attended half of the intervention sessions, and couples were trained in communication skills. The primary outcome was index participant weight at 24 months, assessed by masked personnel; secondary outcomes were 24-month self-reported caloric intake and average daily steps assessed by an activity tracker. General linear mixed models were used to compare group differences in these outcomes following intent-to-treat principles. Results: Among couples assigned to partner-assisted (n=115) or participant-only intervention (n=116), most index participants identified as female (67%) and non-Hispanic White (87%). Average baseline age was 47.27 years (SD 11.51 years) and weight was 106.55 kg (SD 19.41 kg). The estimated mean 24-month weight loss was similar in the partner-assisted (2.66 kg) and participant-only arms (2.89 kg) (estimated mean difference, 0.23 kg [95% CI, -1.58, 2.04 kg]). There were no differences in 24-month average daily caloric intake (50 cal [95% CI: -233, 132 cal]) or steps (806 steps [95% CI: -1675, 64 steps]). The percentage of participants reporting an adverse event with at least possible attribution to the intervention did not differ by arm (partner-assisted: 9%, participant-only, 3%, p=0.11). Conclusions: Partner-assisted and individual weight management interventions led to similar outcomes in index participants. Trial registration : Clinicaltrials.gov NCT03801174.

Project description:Background: We tested the effect of weight loss on circulating levels of the angiogenic factors VEGF and pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) in postmenopausal overweight/obese women, 18 months after completing a year-long 4-arm randomized controlled trial of behavioral weight loss and/or exercise versus control (i.e., 30 months postrandomization).Methods: The 439 overweight/obese, postmenopausal women, ages 50 to 75 years, were randomized to: diet (goal: 10% weight loss, N = 118), exercise (225 min/wk moderate-to-vigorous activity, N = 117), diet + exercise (N = 117), or control (N = 87). At 12 months, 399 women gave a blood sample; 156 returned at 30 months. Biomarkers were measured by immunoassay. Changes were compared using generalized estimating equations, adjusting for baseline BMI, age, and race/ethnicity.Results: Participants randomized to diet, exercise, and diet + exercise arms had greater reductions in VEGF at 30 months (-14.1% P = 0.02; -19.7% P = 0.003; -14.5% P = 0.002, respectively) versus controls (-4.5%). There were no statistically significant changes in PEDF in any intervention arm. Participants maintaining ≥10% of baseline weight loss at 30 months had greater reductions in VEGF versus those who gained weight/had no weight change (-22.3% vs. -10.2% respectively, P = 0.002). Participants maintaining any weight loss had significantly lower levels of PEDF at 30 months versus those who gained weight/no weight change.Conclusions: Sustained weight loss via diet and/or exercise results in reductions in angiogenic factors, and can be maintained up to 30-month follow-up. Limitations include relatively small numbers, and possible bias toward more successful weight loss among women who returned at 30 months.Impact: Maintaining weight loss can achieve long-term reductions in biomarkers of angiogenesis that can persist up to 18 months after completion of a weight loss intervention. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 26(12); 1788-94. ©2017 AACR.

Dataset Information

The Long-Term Effects of Stress on Partner Weight Characteristics.

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

The Long-Term Effects of Stress on Partner Weight Characteristics.

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