TITLE:
Race and Gender Differences in Obesity and Disease
AUTHORS:
Gloria Jones-Johnson, W. Roy Johnson, Natalia Frishman
KEYWORDS:
Obesity, Disease, Cumulative Disadvantage Theory, Feminism, BMI Gender and Race
JOURNAL NAME:
Sociology Mind,
Vol.4 No.3,
July
11,
2014
ABSTRACT:
The objective of the present study was to examine race and gender
differences in obesity and disease overtime. This topic is under studies in
racial/ethnic minority populations. Yet, gender differences in health within
ethnic groups provide a more nuanced approach to health disparities. The
analyses for this study were based on two waves of data (Wave1, 1986 and Wave
2, 1989) of the Americans’ Changing Lives Survey. The results revealed that a
larger percentage of females are obese compared to males across all racial
groups and females suffer a higher prevalence of disease compared to males
which persists across time. The implications for cumulative disadvantage
theory, feminist theory and the measurement of BMI and body fat are discussed.