Gender Differences in Perceived Body Weight: The Consequences of Self-rated Health and Race-ethnicity

• In Event: 21081 - Section on Sociology of Body and Embodiment Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 2: Weight

Abstract

Ample evidence supports the connections between BMI and health outcomes. Yet, it is equally important to understand the relationship between an individual’s self-perception of their weight and health. Even less is known about the antecedents of body weight perceptions. While the research in this area reveals that compared to men, women are more critical of their self-perceived body weight, it is unclear how gender, race-ethnicity, and overall health shape perceived body weight contribute to perceptions of weight, holding constant objective body weight.
Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth, 1997 cohort, we developed trajectories of weight perception among men and women aged 18 to 25. Analyses utilize group-based trajectory modeling techniques to estimate the antecedents of body image trajectories. These preliminary results suggest that these trajectories can be linked to self-reported health. Better self-reported health is associated with more positive weight perception trajectories.

Authors

• Lori Kowaleski-Jones, University of Utah

• C. Andre Christie-Mizell, Vanderbilt University