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Deprivation or discrimination? Comparing two explanations for the reverse income–obesity gradient in the US and South Korea

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 November 2020

SeungYong Han  and
Daniel Hruschka Open the ORCID record for Daniel Hruschka [Opens in a new window]
SeungYong Han
Affiliation:
Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation, Arizona State University, USA
Daniel Hruschka*
Affiliation:
School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, USA
*
*Corresponding author. Email: Daniel.Hruschka@asu.edu.
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Abstract

In high-income countries, poverty is often associated with higher average body mass index (BMI). To account for this reverse gradient, deprivation theories posit that declining economic resources make it more difficult to maintain a healthy weight. By contrast, discrimination theories argue that anti-fat discrimination in hiring and marriage sorts heavier individuals into lower-income households. This study assesses competing predictions of these theories by examining how household income in representative samples from South Korea (2007–2014, N=20,823) and the US (1999–2014, N=6395) is related to BMI in two key contrasting groups: (1) currently-married and (2) never-married individuals. As expected by anti-fat discrimination in marriage, the reverse gradient is observed among currently-married women but not among never-married women in both countries. Also consistent with past studies no evidence was found for a reverse gradient among men. These findings are consistent with anti-fat discrimination in marriage as a key cause of the reverse gradient and raise serious challenges to deprivation accounts as well as explanations based on anti-fat discrimination in labour markets.

Keywords

Reverse gradientIncomeBody mass index
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 54 , Issue 1 , January 2022 , pp. 1 - 20
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

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