Full Citation
Title: Obesity in Adolescence Predicts Lower Educational Attainment and Income in Adulthood: The Project EAT Longitudinal Study.
Citation Type: Journal Article
Publication Year: 2018
ISBN:
ISSN: 1930-739X
DOI: 10.1002/oby.22273
NSFID:
PMCID:
PMID: 30226010
Abstract: OBJECTIVE Prospective associations between obesity in adolescence and adult socioeconomic outcomes, and potential mediators, were examined in a contemporary cohort. METHODS Longitudinal data collected in 1998 to 1999 (Project EAT-I) and 2015 to 2016 (EAT-IV) were analyzed for 1,796 participants who provided data at both time points. Adolescents (mean age = 14.8 years) self-reported demographic and psychosocial variables (EAT-I) and follow-up outcomes (EAT-IV). Body weight and height were directly measured. Bachelor's degree or more education, income ≥ US $50,000, and partnered status at follow-up were examined by baseline obesity (>95th BMI percentile) using logistic regression. Self-esteem, depression, and weight-related teasing were examined as mediators using multivariate probit regressions. All analyses were adjusted for race, baseline age, and parent socioeconomic status. RESULTS Girls with obesity were significantly less likely to have achieved a bachelor's degree (OR 0.32, 95% CI [0.18, 0.58]; P < 0.001), earn ≥ $50,000 annually (OR 0.57, 95% CI [0.33, 0.99]; P < 0.04), or be partnered (OR 0.45, 95% CI [0.27, 0.75]; P < 0.002) in adulthood. No associations were observed among boys. Among girls, depression mediated 8.5% and 23.6% of the association between adolescent obesity and adult education and income, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Adolescent girls with obesity have lower educational attainment and income and are less likely to be partnered in later adulthood. Depression may partly mediate the associations.
Url: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30226010
Url: http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=PMC6146410
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Authors: French, Simone A; Wall, Melanie M; Corbeil, Thomas; Sherwood, Nancy E; Berge, Jerica M; Neumark-Sztainer, Dianne
Periodical (Full): Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.)
Issue: 9
Volume: 26
Pages: 1467-1473
Countries: