Sexual identity mobility and BMI, obesity, and physical activity

Citation

Fricke, Julie & Sironi, Maria (2018). Sexual identity mobility and BMI, obesity, and physical activity. Annual Meeting of the Population Association of America. Denver, CO.

Abstract

Analyzing reported changes in sexual identity over time is necessary for understanding young adult health risks. Utilizing waves 3 and 4 of 'Add Health,' this paper studies the relationships between sexual identity changes and BMI, obesity, and physical activity among young adults in the U.S. through multivariate regressions (n=11,839). It also tests whether those relationships are mediated by depression. The results show that men who report a change toward a more same-sex-oriented identity have a significantly lower BMI, lower obesity prevalence, and participate in more physical activity per week. Conversely, men who report a change toward a more opposite-sex-oriented identity participate in less physical activity per week. For women, a change in sexual identity in either direction is significantly associated with more physical activity per week. The results suggest that sexual identity mobility may also be linked to improvements in health, in addition to the documented consequences.

URL

https://paa.confex.com/paa/2018/webprogrampreliminary/Paper18333.html

Keyword(s)

sexual minorities sexual orientation BMI obesity physical activity

Reference Type

Conference proceeding

Book Title

Annual Meeting of the Population Association of America

Series Title

Sexuality, gender, and population health

Author(s)

Fricke, Julie
Sironi, Maria

Year Published

2018

City of Publication

Denver, CO

Reference ID

9297