Sexual orientation disparities in BMI among US adolescents and young adults in three race/ethnicity groups

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Sabra L. Katz-Wise, Children's Hospital Boston; Emily A. Blood, Dartmouth College; Carly E. Milliren, Children's Hospital Boston; Jerel P. Calzo, Children's Hospital Boston; Tracy K. Richmond, Children's Hospital Boston; Holly Gooding, Emory University; S. Bryn Austin, Children's Hospital Boston
• Language: English
• Date: 2014-01-01
• Publisher: Hindawi
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © 2014 Sabra L. Katz-Wise et al.
• License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/537242
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Journal of Obesity
• ISSN: 2090-0708
• Volume: 2014
• Start Page: 537242
• End Page: 537242
• Grant/Funding Information: Dr. Calzo was supported by K01DA034753 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).; This research uses data from Add Health, a program project directed by Kathleen Mullan Harris and designed by J. Richard Udry, Peter S. Bearman, and Kathleen Mullan Harris, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and funded by Grant P01-HD31921 from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, with cooperative funding from 23 other federal agencies and foundations.; No direct support was received from Grant P01-HD31921 for this analysis.; Dr. Katz-Wise and Dr. Austin were supported by NIH R01 HD066963 and Leadership Education in Adolescent Health Project, Maternal and Child Health Bureau HRSA, Grant 6T71-MC00009.
• Keywords: Male; European Continental Ancestry Group; Hispanic Americans; Adolescent; Health Status Disparities; African Continental Ancestry Group; Homosexuality, Male; Female; Weight Gain; Sex Factors; Adult; Sexual Behavior; Obesity; Young Adult; Body Mass Index; Humans; Bisexuality; Child; Heterosexuality
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Public Health; Psychology, Behavioral

Abstract

Obesity is a key public health issue for US youth. Previous research with primarily white samples of youth has indicated that sexual minority females have higher body mass index (BMI) and sexual minority males have lower BMI than their same-gender heterosexual counterparts, with sexual orientation differences in males increasing across adolescence. This research explored whether gender and sexual orientation differences in BMI exist in nonwhite racial/ethnic groups. Using data from Waves I-IV (1995-2009) of the US National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (N = 13,306, ages 11-34 years), we examined associations between sexual orientation and BMI (kg/m2) over time, using longitudinal linear regression models, stratified by gender and race/ethnicity. Data were analyzed in 2013. Among males, heterosexual individuals showed greater one-year BMI gains than gay males across all race/ethnicity groups. Among females, white and Latina bisexual individuals had higher BMI than same-race/ethnicity heterosexual individuals regardless of age; there were no sexual orientation differences in black/African Americans. Sexual orientation disparities in BMI are a public health concern across race/ethnicity groups. Interventions addressing unhealthy weight gain in youth must be relevant for all sexual orientations and race/ethnicities.