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Body size reference norms and subjective weight status: A gender and life course approach.

ABSTRACT: This paper uses data from The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) to describe county-level variation in norms regarding physical weight among adolescents in the United States. We demonstrate that regardless of one's physical size, those residing in counties with a heavier weight norm are significantly less likely to see themselves as overweight than those residing in counties with a light weight norm. We further show that the local weight norm during adolescence (Wave 1) is associated with individuals' weight perceptions through adolescence and into young adulthood (Wave 4), though these associations attenuate in strength as respondents age. Our results suggest that weight norms have a stronger influence on weight perceptions among women compared to men and that the role of gender is particularly important during adolescence. We encourage life course researchers to consider the normative health environment during adolescence as an important context for understanding disparities in health and health lifestyles as people age.

SUBMITTER: Wedow R

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5905672 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Body size reference norms and subjective weight status: A gender and life course approach.

Wedow Robbee R Masters Ryan K RK Mollborn Stefanie S Schnabel Landon L Boardman Jason D JD

Social forces; a scientific medium of social study and interpretation 20171124 3

This paper uses data from The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) to describe county-level variation in norms regarding physical weight among adolescents in the United States. We demonstrate that regardless of one's physical size, those residing in counties with a heavier weight norm are significantly less likely to see themselves as overweight than those residing in counties with a light weight norm. We further show that the local weight norm during adolescenc ...[more]

PMID: 29681662

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Project description:Mammographic density (MD) is a strong risk factor for breast cancer, but the biological mechanism underlying this association is not clear. Current adult body mass index (BMI) is inversely associated with percent MD; however, few studies have included Hispanic women or evaluated associations with measures of body fatness earlier in life. ESMaestras was established in 2006, when 28,345 women ages ?35 responded to a detailed questionnaire that assessed possible disease risk factors, including body fatness in childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood. In 2007, 2084 ESMaestras participants underwent a clinical examination, which included measurements of weight, height, and sitting height and a mammogram. We measured percent MD using a computer-assisted method. The current analysis includes 972 premenopausal and 559 postmenopausal women. We used multivariable linear regression to evaluate associations between measures of body size and MD, independent of current BMI. Among pre- and postmenopausal women, we observed no significant associations between body fatness during childhood, adolescence, or young adulthood and percent MD. Among postmenopausal women, we observed a modest positive association between body fatness immediately before first pregnancy and between ages 25 and 35 after adjustment for current BMI, with differences of 4.9 and 3.6 % points, respectively, in percent MD between the heaviest and leanest women (p-trend = 0.02). There were no significant associations between height, sitting height, and percent MD among pre- or postmenopausal women in multivariable models adjusting for BMI. In general, we found no clear associations between measures of body size in early life, current sitting height, or current height, and percent MD, after adjusting for current BMI, in this population of Mexican women. Our observation of a positive association between early adult body fatness (i.e., before first pregnancy and ages 25-35) and percent MD among postmenopausal women is inconsistent with prior research and requires confirmation in other studies.

Project description:BackgroundExisting evidence suggests that there is an association between body size and prevalent Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH)-related outcomes and nocturia. However, there is limited evidence on the association between body size throughout the life-course and incident BPH-related outcomes.MethodsOur study population consisted of men without histories of prostate cancer, BPH-related outcomes, or nocturia in the intervention arm of the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial (PLCO) (n = 4710). Associations for body size in early- (age 20), mid- (age 50) and late-life (age ≥ 55, mean age 60.7 years) and weight change with incident BPH-related outcomes (including self-reported nocturia and physician diagnosis of BPH, digital rectal examination-estimated prostate volume ≥ 30 cc, and prostate-specific antigen [PSA] concentration > 1.4 ng/mL) were examined using Poisson regression with robust variance estimation.ResultsMen who were obese in late-life were 25% more likely to report nocturia (Relative Risk (RR): 1.25, 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 1.11-1.40; p-trendfor continuous BMI < 0.0001) and men who were either overweight or obese in late-life were more likely to report a prostate volume ≥ 30 cc (RRoverweight: 1.13, 95% CI 1.07-1.21; RRobese: 1.10, 95% CI 1.02-1.19; p-trendfor continuous BMI = 0.017) as compared to normal weight men. Obesity at ages 20 and 50 was similarly associated with both nocturia and prostate volume ≥ 30 cc. Considering trajectories of body size, men who were normal weight at age 20 and became overweight or obese by later-life had increased risks of nocturia (RRnormal to overweight: 1.09, 95% CI 0.98-1.22; RRnormal to obese: 1.28, 95% CI 1.10-1.47) and a prostate volume ≥ 30 cc (RRnormal to overweight: 1.12, 95% CI 1.05-1.20). Too few men were obese early in life to examine the independent effect of early-life body size. Later-life body size modified the association between physical activity and nocturia.ConclusionsWe found that later-life body size, independent of early-life body size, was associated with adverse BPH outcomes, suggesting that interventions to reduce body size even late in life can potentially reduce the burden of BPH-related outcomes and nocturia.

Dataset Information

Body size reference norms and subjective weight status: A gender and life course approach.

Publications

Body size reference norms and subjective weight status: A gender and life course approach.

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