Overweight and Obesity among Sexual Minority Adults in the United States

Abstract

There is evidence that sexual minority populations have a potentially heightened risk of poor health outcomes due in part to the discrimination they may face. In the present study, we examined whether overweightness and obesity vary by sexual minority subgroup using a large, nationally representative sample. Data were drawn from 2014–2017 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) surveys (n = 716,609). We grouped participants according to sexual identity (straight, lesbian or gay, bisexual, and other/don’t know/not sure). The propensity score matching technique was used to address covariate imbalance among sexual identity groups. In addition, subgroup analyses were performed for both males and females. Compared to straight adults, lesbian females had significantly higher odds of being overweight (OR (odds ratio) 1.33; 95% CI (confidence interval) 1.17–1.53), whereas gay males had significantly lower odds (OR 0.66; 95% CI 0.59–0.73). Similarly, lesbians were more likely to be obese (OR 1.49; 95% CI 1.31–1.70), whereas gay men had significantly lower odds of obesity (OR 0.77; 95% CI 0.69–0.86) when compared to straight adults. Bisexual females had significantly higher odds of being overweight (OR 1.21; 95% CI 1.10–1.34) and obese (OR 1.43; 95% CI 1.29–1.59), whereas bisexual males showed no significant difference. Our results strengthen previous findings and further highlight the need for research by sexual minority subgroup.

The association between sexual orientation, BMI, obesity diagnosis, and provider recommendation for weight management

“…Previous research indicates that lesbian and bisexual females have significantly higher odds of being obese compared to their straight counterparts. This may increase their risk of serious illnesses including cancer, cardiovascular, and other diseases [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19]. In addition, little is known about whether provider diagnosis and recommendation for weight management vary across these populations.…”

A systematic review of the engagement with social media–delivered interventions for improving health outcomes among sexual and gender minorities

“…However, assessments among SGM people found important disparities and unmet needs for depression ( Becerra-Culqui et al, 2018 ; Marshal et al, 2011 ), alcohol and substance use ( Boyd et al, 2019 ), tobacco use ( Jamal et al, 2018 ), obesity and eating disorders ( Azagba et al, 2019 ), some types of cancer ( Valanis et al, 2000 ), and heart disease ( Caceres et al, 2020 ). These disparities are even greater in SGM communities of color ( Bostwick et al, 2014 ) and SGM communities living in rural settings ( Rosenkrantz et al, 2017 ; Willging et al, 2006 ).…”

Association between sexual orientation and subjective cognitive complaints in the general population in England

“…Influential factors were variables that may play a mediating role in the association between sexual orientation and SCC. These influential factors included smoking status (McCabe et al, 2018;Sabia et al, 2012), alcohol dependence (Kim, Kim, & Park, 2016;Pesola, Shelton, & van den Bree, Marianne BM, 2014), perceived stress (Krueger, Meyer, & Upchurch, 2018;Munoz, Sliwinski, Scott, & Hofer, 2015), the number of stressful life events (Hatzenbuehler, Slopen, & McLaughlin, 2014;Pilleron et al, 2015), depression (Semlyen, King, Varney, & Hagger-Johnson, 2016;Toyoshima et al, 2020), any anxiety disorder (Hill et al, 2016;Semlyen et al, 2016), sleep problems (Duncan et al, 2018;Tsapanou et al, 2019), and obesity (Azagba, Shan, & Latham, 2019;Hou et al, 2019).…”