B3335 - Changing causes and consequences of overweight obesity and underweight a historical comparison of UK and Norwegian cohorts 19 - 27/06/2019

B number: 
B3335
Principal applicant name: 
Amanda Hughes | University of Bristol (United Kingdom)
Co-applicants: 
Title of project: 
Changing causes and consequences of overweight, obesity and underweight: a historical comparison of UK and Norwegian cohorts, 19
Proposal summary: 

Since the 1980s overweight and obesity have increased dramatically, but we do not know if this has altered their health and social consequences for individuals. In high-income countries, inequalities in underweight is largely ignored, but my research on body weight and unemployment suggests they are greater than realised. Weight misperception (failure to recognise one’s overweight/obesity) has increased, but the implications for individual health and health inequalities are unclear. 

Using UK and Norwegian data from 1984-2021, I will: 

Extend knowledge of economic inequalities in underweight in adults and children  

Investigate influence of overweight/obesity on depression, depression on overweight/obesity, and whether relationships have changed with time 

Investigate consequences of weight misperception for weight, mental health, and health inequalities 

Results will identify high-risk groups for underweight and illuminate causes, explore societal factors modifying body weight-depression links, indicate mental health returns to tackling obesity, and inform effective weight management strategies which also support wellbeing.

Impact of research: 
I hope that the findings around high-risk groups for underweight, and how social patterning of underweight varies by policy context, will feed into debates around the health consequences of welfare policies. With many existing obesity interventions based around informing individuals of their weight status, findings around the health consequences of weight misperception will have implications for designing more effective strategies which also support wellbeing.
Date proposal received: 
Tuesday, 25 June, 2019
Date proposal approved: 
Thursday, 27 June, 2019
Keywords: 
Epidemiology, Mental health, Obesity, Statistical methods, BMI, Mendelian randomisation, Social science