Publication year: 2011
Source: Social Science & Medicine, In Press, Accepted Manuscript, Available online 31 August 2011
Debra, Umberson , Hui, Liu , John, Mirowsky , Corinne, Reczek
Scholars call for greater attention to social contexts that promote and deter risk factors for health. Parenthood transforms social contexts in a myriad of ways that may influence long-term patterns of weight gain. Life course features of parenthood such as age at first birth, parity, and living with a minor child may further influence weight gain. Moreover, the social and biological features of parenthood vary in systematic ways for women and men, raising questions about how social contexts might differentially affect weight patterns by gender. We consider how parenthood influences trajectories of change in body weight over a fifteen year…
Highlights: ► Identifying social factors that cause weight gain is important because excess weight contributes to morbidity and mortality risk. ► ongitudinal data from the USA show how various facets of parenthood influence long-term trajectories of weight gain in adulthood. ► Parents gain weight more rapidly than the childless throughout the life course. ► Early or late timing of parenthood, parity, and living with young children further accelerate weight gain. ► Social aspects of parenthood contribute to a long-term, cumulative process of weight gain for American women and men.