Abstract
BackgroundDuring the transition to adulthood many young adults become obese for the first time in their lives, yet relatively little research has examined why people in this life phase become obese. This study examines what career and family life-course pathways during the transition to adulthood are related to developing obesity in young adulthood.MethodsWe use data from the NLSY97, a U.S. nationally representative panel survey conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics between 1997 to 2013 (N = 4688), and apply multichannel sequence analysis in order to identify clusters of typical career-family pathways during the transition to adulthood (age 17 to 27), and subsequently investigate whether these pathways are associated with becoming obese at the end of young adulthood (age 28), using logistic regression. We control for obesity at age 17 and family background factors (race, parental education, parental income, and family structure). To take into account the fact that the transition to adulthood has a different meaning for men and for women, we also interact career-family clusters with gender.ResultsFor women, pathways characterized by college education, early home leaving, and postponement of family formation decrease the probability of becoming obese. For men, pathways characterized by early marriage increase the probability of becoming obese.ConclusionsThe results highlight the importance of gender differences in how career and family pathways are related to becoming obese in young adulthood.
Highlights
During the transition to adulthood many young adults become obese for the first time in their lives, yet relatively little research has examined why people in this life phase become obese
While much research has focused on obesity during childhood and adolescence, a large increase in body mass index (BMI) occurs during the transition from adolescence to adulthood [22, 34, 48]
The transition to adulthood has been protracted since the second half of the twentieth century: union formation and parenthood have been delayed, and youth have prolonger their time spent in full-time education [19]
Summary
During the transition to adulthood many young adults become obese for the first time in their lives, yet relatively little research has examined why people in this life phase become obese. This study examines what career and family life-course pathways during the transition to adulthood are related to developing obesity in young adulthood. The transition to adulthood has been protracted since the second half of the twentieth century: union formation (be it marriage or cohabitation) and parenthood have been delayed, and youth have prolonger their time spent in full-time education [19]. Given these important changes in the transition to adulthood, it is important to understand which of career and family pathways are nowadays associated with developing obesity in young adulthood
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