Zusammenfassung

We analyze the influence of body weight in early adulthood, and changes in weight over time, on self rated health (SRH) as people age into mid-adulthood. While prior research focused on cross-sectional samples of older adults, we use longitudinal data from the NHANES I Epidemiologic Follow-up Study (NHEFS) and double-trajectory latent growth models to study the association between body mass index (BMI) and SRH trajectories over twenty years. Results indicate that high BMI in early adulthood and gaining more weight over time are both associated with a faster decline in health ratings. Among white women only, those with a higher BMI at the baseline also report lower initial SRH. A small part of the weight-health associations is due to sociodemographic factors, but not baseline health behaviors or medical conditions. The findings provide new support for the cumulative disadvantage perspective, documenting the increasing health inequalities in a cohort of young adults.