Coming Unmoored: Disproportionate Increases in Obesity Prevalence among Young, Disadvantaged White Women

Citation

Robinson, Whitney R.; Kershaw, Kiarri N.; Mezuk, Briana; Rafferty, Jane A.; Lee, Hedwig E.; Johnson-Lawrence, Vicki D.; Seamans, Marissa J.; & Jackson, James S. (2015). Coming Unmoored: Disproportionate Increases in Obesity Prevalence among Young, Disadvantaged White Women. Obesity, 23(1), 213-219. PMCID: PMC4276490

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: Since the 1980s, older, low-educated White women experienced an unprecedented decrease in life expectancy. We investigated whether a similar phenomenon was evident among younger women for obesity.
METHODS: Using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, age-adjusted changes were estimated in the prevalence of overall and abdominal obesity (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2 , waist circumference > 88 cm) between 1988-1994 and 2003-2010 among non-Hispanic White women aged 25-44 years, stratified by educational attainment (RESULTS: Relative increases in overall obesity were disproportionately larger for low-educated (CONCLUSIONS: Contemporary young, low-educated White women showed indications of disproportionate worsening of overall obesity prevalence compared to more educated White and similarly educated Black women. Low education levels are more powerful indicators of obesity risk among contemporary White women than 30 years ago.

URL

http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/oby.20913

Reference Type

Journal Article

Year Published

2015

Journal Title

Obesity

Author(s)

Robinson, Whitney R.
Kershaw, Kiarri N.
Mezuk, Briana
Rafferty, Jane A.
Lee, Hedwig E.
Johnson-Lawrence, Vicki D.
Seamans, Marissa J.
Jackson, James S.

PMCID

PMC4276490

ORCiD

Robinson, W - 0000-0003-4009-0488