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. 2012 Jun;21(5):813-25.
doi: 10.1007/s11136-011-9989-1. Epub 2011 Aug 13.

Bodyweight, gender, and quality of life: a population-based longitudinal study

Rochelle E Garner  1 , David H Feeny, Amanda Thompson, Julie Bernier, Bentson H McFarland, Nathalie Huguet, Mark S Kaplan, Heather Orpana, Nancy A Ross, Chris Blanchard
Affiliations

Bodyweight, gender, and quality of life: a population-based longitudinal study

Rochelle E Garner et al. Qual Life Res. 2012 Jun.

Erratum in

  • Qual Life Res. 2012 Jun;21(5):827

Abstract

Purpose: The objective of the paper is to describe trajectories of health-related quality of life (HRQL) associated with categories of body mass index (BMI): underweight, normal weight, overweight, obese class I, and obese classes II and III.

Methods: Data come from the longitudinal Canadian National Population Health Survey. Analyses are based on data for 3,864 men and 4,745 women who were 40+ in 1998/1999 and followed through 2006/2007. HRQL was measured with the Health Utilities Index Mark 3. Multi-level growth modeling was used.

Results: HRQL declined with age. For men, there was a large HRQL decrement for being underweight; trajectories for all other BMI categories were very similar. For women being underweight was associated with higher HRQL at younger ages but lower at older ages. Otherwise, for women, HRQL was ordered from highest to lowest: normal, overweight, obese class I, and obese classes II and III.

Conclusions: Given that excess weight is a risk factor for mortality and the development of chronic conditions, the HRQL results for men are surprising. The HRQL results for women may reflect both the importance of body image on mental health and the health effects of excess weight.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest. It should be noted that David Feeny has a proprietary interest in Health Utilities Incorporated (HUInc.), Dundas, Ontario, Canada. HUInc. distributes copyrighted Health Utilities Index (HUI) materials and provides methodological advice on the use of HUI. It should be noted that HUInc. received no payment for the use of HUI in the study reported in this manuscript. None of the other authors declare any competing interests.

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