Background: Although there are indications that being underweight can compromise health status, most studies examine the health effects of obesity. A clearer understanding of the differential health effects of being underweight or obese could provide avenues for targeted, effective interventions. Method: To address the study questions, we analyzed data from the 2012 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). We defined the following body weight groups: BMI ≤ 18.5 as underweight; healthy body weight as18.5 ≤ BMI < 25; overweight as 25 < BMI < 30; Class1 obese as 30 ≤ BMI < 35; Class2 obese as 35 ≤ BMI< 40; and Class3 obese as 40 ≤ BMI. We conduct χ2 -and t-tests of health status differences across these body weight classes. Applying a health production framework from health economics we conducted a multivariate analysis to examine the effects of body-weight classes on the likelihood of self-assessed good health status. Results: Relative to individuals with healthy body weights, those who were underweight had poorer health, higher probability of poor health and prevalence of diagnosed chronic health conditions. We found significant (p < 0.000) differences in health status, across the four bodyweight classes (underweight, obese classes 1-3). Being underweight has similar negative health effects as being obese.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.