ВЗАИМОСВЯЗЬ ИНДЕКСА МАССЫ ТЕЛА И УДОВЛЕТВОРЕННОСТИ ЖИЗНЬЮ ВЗРОСЛЫХ РОССИЯН

Abstract

Significance. A positive assessment of life satisfaction is important for building a sense of general social well-being in the country. Meanwhile, the body mass index can be one of the factors determining this assessment. The purpose of the study was to assess the relationship between the body mass index of adult Russians and their satisfaction with life based on the empirical analysis. Material and methods. The analysis is based on data of the Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey for 10 years (2010-2019). The object of the study was the respondents aged 18 and older, except for pregnant women. Econometric modeling was used to estimate the relationship between the body mass index and self- assessment of satisfaction with life. Results. The empirical analysis shows that life satisfaction increases until the body mass index reaches the lower threshold of morbid obesity (38 for women and 39 for men) other things being equal, and afterwards it starts to decline. Conclusions. The study results conclude that some residents of Russia with the excessive body mass index do not consider obesity as a factor decreasing their satisfaction with life. Implementation of educational activities aimed at raising public awareness about negative health consequences associated with overweight can help both to reduce the share of obese Russians, and increase self-assessment of satisfaction with life.