1. Life-Course Physical and Social Consequences of Early-Life Obesity
Tetyana Pudrovska
Assistant Professor of Sociology and Demography
Pennsylvania State University

2. The Long Arm of Childhood Obesity
Early-life obesity as a health risk and social risk
Short-term consequences
Biological and social
Often become long-term
Long-term consequences
Direct biological
Direct social
Indirect biological via social disadvantage

3. Data Sets The Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (WLS)
10,317 Wisconsin high school graduates, class of 1957
1939 birth cohort
Surveyed in 1957 (age 18), 1975 (age 36), 1993 (age 54), 2004 (age 65), 2012 (age 73)…
Innovative measure of early-life obesity

4. Data Sets The Wisconsin Longitudinal Study 8,619 high school yearbooks
6 coders rated facial adiposity in pictures on scale from 1 (lowest) to 11 (highest)
Very high validity and reliability

5. Coding Facial Obesity

6. Coding Facial Obesity

7. Data Sets The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY)
Nationally representative sample of 12,686 young men and women who were years old in 1979
birth cohorts
Three subsamples:
General (N = 6,111)
Oversample of minority and low SES (N = 5,295)
Military (N =1,280)
Self-reported height and weight

8. Data Sets
The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES)
Nationally representative program of large-scale surveys designed to assess the health and nutritional status of adults and children
Began in the early 1960s and still ongoing
Oversample of Mexican population
Measured height, weight, WC, fat distribution
Rich source of biomarkers
Limitation: Repeated cross-section, no true within-individual changes

9. WLS: Reciprocal Chain of Disadvantage btw Obesity and Low SES

10. NLSY: Reciprocal Chain of Disadvantage btw Obesity and Low SES

11. NLSY: Reciprocal Chain of Disadvantage btw Obesity and Low SES

12. WLS: Adolescent Obesity and Late-Life Mortality

13. WLS: Adolescent Obesity and Health Outcomes by Age 65
POOR SELF-RATED HEALTH
Adjusting for midlife BMI

14. WLS: Adolescent Obesity and Health Outcomes by Age 65
HYPERTENSION
Adjusting for midlife BMI

15. WLS: Adolescent Obesity and Health Outcomes by Age 65
DIABETES
Adjusting for midlife BMI

16. WLS: Adolescent Obesity and Health Outcomes by Age 65
HEART DISEASE
Adjusting for midlife BMI

17. NHANES 2003-2004: Waist Circumference & Inflammation
Girls, Ages 0-11

18. NHANES 2003-2004: Waist Circumference & Inflammation
Boys, Ages 0-11

19. NHANES 2003-2004: Waist Circumference & Inflammation
Boys and Girls, Ages 12-19

20. NHANES 2003-2004: Waist Circumference & Glucose Metabolism
Boys and Girls, Ages 12-19