Early-life social origins of later-life body weight: The role of socioeconomic status and health behaviors over the life course

Abstract

Using the 1957-2004 data from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, we apply structural equation modeling to examine gender-specific effects of family socioeconomic status (SES) at age 18 on body weight at age 65. We further explore SES and health behaviors over the life course as mechanisms linking family background and later-life body weight. We find that early-life socioeconomic disadvantage is related to higher body weight at age 65 and a steeper weight increase between midlife and late life. These adverse effects are stronger among women than men. Significant mediators of the effect of parents' SES include adolescent body mass (especially among women) as well as exercise and SES in midlife. Yet, consistent with the critical period mechanism, the effect of early-life SES on late-life body weight persists net of all mediating variables. This study expands current understanding of life-course mechanisms that contribute to obesity and increase biological vulnerability to social disadvantage.

Additive influences of maternal and paternal body mass index on weight status trajectories from childhood to mid-adulthood in the 1970 British Cohort Study

“…This sex--inequality has been observed in previous studies using adulthood obesity as the outcome even after adjustment for potential adulthood cofounders (Heraclides et al, 2008;Khlat et al, 2009;Pudrovska et al, 2014). One potential explanation is that traditionally men tend to move upward on the social ladder, resulting in a closing of the social gap in health outcomes from childhood SEP; whereas women tend to remain in the social class of origin, magnifying the effect of parental social class on adulthood overweight (Heraclides et al, 2008).…”

“…This was to test whether parental BMI affects weight status trajectories differently in males and females, and because of the sex inequality in the consequences of overweight /obesity, the potential differences in the association of early life factors (such as SEP) with adulthood overweight/obesity (Heraclides, Witte, & Brunner, 2008;Khlat, Jusot & Ville, 2009;Pudrovska, Logan & Richman, 2014), and the significant differences in the prevalence of weight status trajectories. Univariable multinomial logistic regression was used to assess the associations of maternal and paternal BMI (separately) with weight status trajectory membership.…”

Why Do College Graduates Behave More Healthfully Than Those Who Are Less Educated?

“…Other studies have shown the importance of earlier health behaviors for both educational attainment and later health behaviors (for examples, Andersson and Maralani 2015; Maralani 2014; Pudrovska et al 2014). Although I do not interpret the model predicting college degree attainment from adolescent characteristics, the results demonstrate that earlier health behaviors are positively associated with college graduation (see Appendix B).…”

Life-course socio-economic status and adult BMI in Ghana; analysis of the WHO study on global ageing and adult health (SAGE)

“…The association between SES and obesity in developing countries appears to be the reverse; with studies reporting that more affluent or those with higher education were more likely to be obese [14, 15]. Additionally, studies from developed countries suggest that the influence of SES on obesity begins from childhood [16–19]. However, very few studies have focused on examining socio-economic differences across the life-course in obesity in developing countries, and to our knowledge only one study has been conducted in sub-Saharan Africa to examine childhood and adult SES.…”