Marital status, body weight perception and weight management among U.S. adults: The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), 1999-2002

Background: Individuals in a marital role are often heavier than those not in marital roles. It is unclear how marital identities are represented in body weight perceptions, aspirations for weight change, and approaches to weight management.

Methods: Multinomial logistic regression was used to examine associations between marital status (never married, married/cohabitating, divorced/separated, widowed), body weight perception (BWP: overweight, about right, underweight), desired weight change (DWC: lose, stay the same, gain), and weight management approach (WMA) among 4089 males and 3989 females from NHANES, 1999-2002.

Results: Controlling for demographics and current weight, married (OR=1.6, 95%CI: 1.1-2.4) and widowed (OR=1.6, 95%CI: 1.1-2.2) females perceived themselves as overweight more often than those never married. Marital status was unrelated to males' BWP. Desire to weigh less was more frequent among married (OR=1.7, 95%CI: 1.1-2.5) and divorced/separated (OR=1.6, 95%CI: 1.1-2.5) females than those never married. Marital status was unrelated to males' DWC. Regarding WMA, most females were not taking action (38%) or attempting to lose weight (36%). Most males (52%) were not managing their weight. Marital status was unrelated to WMA except for widowed males (OR=0.3, 95%CI: 0.1-0.7) and females (OR=0.4, 95%CI: 0.2-0.8) who were less likely to be preventing weight gain than those never married.

Conclusions: Males' marital status was generally unassociated with weight-related perceptions, desires, and behaviors, suggesting their weight identities are not linked to marital roles. Married and formerly married females more often perceived themselves as overweight and desired a lower weight, suggesting female weight identities may be tied to marital roles.