Body size reference norms and subjective weight status: A gender and life course approach

Abstract

This paper uses data from The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) to describe county-level variation in norms regarding physical weight among adolescents in the United States. We demonstrate that regardless of one's physical size, those residing in counties with a heavier weight norm are significantly less likely to see themselves as overweight than those residing in counties with a light weight norm. We further show that the local weight norm during adolescence (Wave 1) is associated with individuals' weight perceptions through adolescence and into young adulthood (Wave 4), though these associations attenuate in strength as respondents age. Our results suggest that weight norms have a stronger influence on weight perceptions among women compared to men and that the role of gender is particularly important during adolescence. We encourage life course researchers to consider the normative health environment during adolescence as an important context for understanding disparities in health and health lifestyles as people age.

Keywords: contextual variation; gender; life course; reference groups; self-perceived weight status; weight norms.

Figure 1

Distribution of county-level CDC weight z-scores in Add Health, Wave 1.

Figure 2

Variance in the relationship between objective and subjective weight status by county normal weight reference norm at Wave 1 across the life course and by gender, Add Health Waves 1–4.