Deakin home > Deakin University Library > Deakin Research Online > Longitudinal relationships among overweight, life satisfaction, and aspirations in young women

Longitudinal relationships among overweight, life satisfaction, and aspirations in young women

Ball, Kylie, Crawford, David and Kenardy, Justin 2004, Longitudinal relationships among overweight, life satisfaction, and aspirations in young women, Obesity research, vol. 12, no. 6, pp. 1019-1030.

Attached Files (Some files may be inaccessible until you login with your Deakin Research Online credentials)
Name Description MIMEType Size Downloads

Title Longitudinal relationships among overweight, life satisfaction, and aspirations in young women
Author(s) Ball, Kylie
Crawford, David
Kenardy, Justin
Journal name Obesity research
Volume number 12
Issue number 6
Start page 1019
End page 1030
Publisher NPG
Place of publication [New York, NY.]
Publication date 2004
ISSN 1071-7323
1930-739X
Keyword(s) life satisfaction
life aspirations
weight change
socioeconomic factors
Summary Objective: This study investigated associations of overweight status and changes in overweight status over time with life satisfaction and future aspirations among a community sample of young women.

Research Methods and Procedures: A total of 7865 young women, initially 18 to 23 years of age, completed two surveys that were 4 years apart. These women provided data on their future life aspirations in the areas of further education, work/career, marital status, and children, as well as their satisfaction with achievements to date in a number of life domains. Women reported their height and weight and their sociodemographic characteristics, including current socioeconomic status (occupation).

Results: Young women's aspirations were cross-sectionally related to BMI category, such that obese women were less likely to aspire to further education, although this relationship seemed explained largely by current occupation. Even after adjusting for current occupation, young women who were obese were more dissatisfied with work/career/study, family relationships, partner relationships, and social activities. Weight status was also longitudinally associated with aspirations and life satisfaction. Women who were overweight or obese at both surveys were more likely than other women to aspire to "other" types of employment (including self-employed and unpaid work in the home) as opposed to full-time employment. They were also less likely to be satisfied with study or partner relationships. Women who resolved their overweight/obesity status were more likely to aspire to being childless than other women.

Discussion: These results suggest that being overweight/obese may have a lasting effect on young women's life satisfaction and their future life aspirations.
Language eng
Field of Research 111706 Epidemiology
HERDC Research category C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal
Copyright notice ©2008 The Obesity Society
Persistent URL http://hdl.handle.net/10536/DRO/DU:30002478

Connect to link resolver
 
Unless expressly stated otherwise, the copyright for items in Deakin Research Online is owned by the author, with all rights reserved.

Versions
Version Filter Type
Citation counts: TR Web of Science Citation Count  Cited 27 times in TR Web of Science
Scopus Citation Count Cited 28 times in Scopus
Access Statistics: 403 Abstract Views, 0 File Downloads  -  Detailed Statistics
Created: Mon, 07 Jul 2008, 08:25:50 EST