College expectations in high school mitigate weight gain over early adulthood: Findings from a national study of American youth

Contributions of subjective status to eating behaviors, obesity, and metabolic health across development

Subjective status is the evaluation of one's social or socioeconomic status relative to others. Lower subjective status has been associated with risk of overweight/obesity, poorer metabolic health, and obesogenic food preferences and eating behaviors. However, these findings are predominantly based on studies of adolescents and young adults. This indicates major gaps in knowledge and application of this social determinant of obesity and metabolic health, given that perceived status develops throughout the life course along with food environments and eating habits. Here, we review the relationships that subjective status shares with the outcomes of eating behaviors, obesity, and metabolic health across milestones and periods of development: during the prenatal period, as caregivers who feed children, during childhood (prior to age 10) and from adolescence into emerging adulthood (until mid-20's). For each developmental period, we explore why the period critically contributes to these outcomes and how subjective status may affect eating behaviors and metabolic health. We propose that subjective status contributes to eating/feeding behaviors and metabolic health both within and across developmental periods, such that the effect of low subjective status at an earlier period may contribute to obesogenic eating behaviors and metabolic health in later developmental periods and intergenerationally. The influence of low subjective status on higher body weight may also threaten subjective status later in development through heightened vulnerability to social stressors, such as weight-based stigma. Overall, subjective status may be a broadly influential factor to consider when examining social determinants of obesity and metabolic health across development.

Self-worth and developmental outcomes in young adults after pediatric bariatric surgery

OBJECTIVES

Bariatric surgery has emerged as a safe/effective treatment for adolescents with severe obesity; therefore, understanding its impact over the life course is imperative. This study examined self-worth and developmental outcomes during the transition to adulthood (19-24 years old) for youth who underwent surgery as adolescents (13-18 years old) and a nonsurgical group with severe obesity.

METHOD

As part of a prospective and multisite observational study series, adolescents (139 surgical, 83 nonsurgical) were followed for 6 years postsurgery/baseline when they completed height/weight measurements and measures of global self-worth, maturity, and occupational, educational, and social functioning as young adults. Growth curve analysis examined global self-worth change, while regressions were used to compare groups and examine adolescent-reported familial predictors and weight-related correlates for outcomes.

RESULTS

Relative to the nonsurgical group, the surgical group experienced a significant quadratic improvement in self-worth and higher year 6 romantic self-perceptions. For the surgical group only, greater family dysfunction predicted lower young adult self-worth and perceptions of maturity, while higher family connectedness predicted higher self-worth and perceptions of maturity. Greater percent weight loss was associated with higher perceptions of maturity for the surgical group.

CONCLUSIONS

Group difference findings suggest that the impact of surgery was on self-worth and romantic self-perceptions, outcomes linked in the developmental literature to body image. For both groups, functioning appeared similar to population-based findings, suggesting they are meeting "expected" age-salient developmental outcomes. The impact of earlier positive family functioning on self-worth and self-perceptions of maturity may place adolescents on pathways to success. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Self-perceptions of critical thinking skills in university students are associated with BMI and exercise

Objective: To assess the role of body mass index (BMI) and exercise levels in self-perception of critical thinking skills. Participants: Three hundred forty-seven students from an upper-division nutrition class over two consecutive years. Methods: A pre/post survey with a 15-week intervention assessed perceived critical thinking skills in a blended classroom. Results: Students gained in perceived critical thinking skills in six areas over the semester. A higher BMI was associated with decreased perception of one's ability to think logically, along with increased perception that memorization was the key to success. Those that exercised reported that they had strong critical thinking skills compared to those that exercised less frequently. Conclusions: A blended classroom approach was effective in increasing multiple areas of perceptions of critical thinking. However, some perceptions of critical thinking are viewed differently for those of different BMIs and exercise frequency. Consequently, designing interventions specifically targeting those with higher BMIs, could work to erase these inequities.

The Divergent Mental Health Effects of Dashed Expectations and Unfulfilled Aspirations: Evidence from American Lawyers’ Careers

Considerable work has shown that optimistic future orientations can be a resource for resilience across individuals’ lives. At the same time, research has shown little downside to “shooting for the stars” and failing. Here, we bring these competing insights to the study of lawyers’ careers, investigating the relationship between mental health and failure in achieving desired career advancement. To do this, we differentiate between expectations and aspirations for the future, a conceptual distinction that has been much theorized but little tested. Using longitudinal data, we show that dashed expectations of making partner are associated with depreciated mental health outcomes, whereas a similar relationship does not exist for unfulfilled aspirations. We conclude that inasmuch as expectations are more deeply rooted in an individual’s realistic sense of their future self, failing to achieve what is expected is more psychologically damaging than failing to achieve what is simply aspired. Our findings contrast with studies of younger people that demonstrate fewer consequences for unfulfilled future orientations, and so we highlight the importance of specifying how particular future-oriented beliefs fit into distinct career and life course trajectories, for better or for worse. In the process, we contribute to the academic literatures on future orientations, work, and mental health.

Group‐based trajectory modeling of body mass index and body size over the life course: A scoping review

Background

Group‐based trajectory modeling has been applied to identify distinct trajectories of growth across the life course. Objectives of this study were to describe the methodological approaches for group‐based modeling of growth across the life course and to summarize outcomes across studies.

Methods

A scoping review with a systematic search of Medline, EMBASE, CINAL, and Web of Science was conducted. Studies that used a group‐based procedure to identify trajectories on any statistical software were included. Data were extracted on trajectory methodology, measures of growth, and association with outcomes.

Results

A total of 59 studies were included, and most were published from 2013 to 2020. Body mass index was the most common measure of growth (n = 43). The median number of identified trajectories was 4 (range: 2–9). PROC TRAJ in SAS was used by 33 studies, other procedures used include TRAJ in STATA, lcmm in R, and Mplus. Most studies evaluated associations between growth trajectories and chronic disease outcomes (n = 22).

Conclusions

Group‐based trajectory modeling of growth in adults is emerging in epidemiologic research, with four distinct trajectories observed somewhat consistently from all studies. Understanding life course growth trajectories may provide further insight for population health interventions.

A systematic review of the methodology used to study weight change among young adults attending college

INTRODUCTION

Young adulthood is a sensitive developmental period that is high-risk for weight gain. Ample research has focused on weight gain among college students; however meta-analyses report <2 kg pooled estimates of weight gain, which is in the range of normal weight fluctuation, and there is disagreement in the literature regarding common predictors of weight gain. These limitations pose a major barrier to targeted obesity prevention efforts. The present study reviewed the literature assessing college weight gain with a focus on three methodological factors that could contribute to variability in the literature: 1) use of an evidence-supported definition of weight gain (>2 kg or ≥3%); 2) weight measurement protocols; and 3) including weight/BMI in analyses of predictors of weight change.

METHODS

Three databases were systematically searched. Studies were included in the review if the primary goal was to determine magnitude of weight change and/or test predictors of weight change during the academic year, and they reported weight at 2+ time points.

RESULTS

A total of 81 studies were included in the review. Most studies (90%; 73/81) did not use an evidence-supported definition of weight gain. Studies that used an evidence-supported definition reported estimates of gain among students who gained weight to be beyond the range of normal weight fluctuation (4.0-7.5 kg), and occurred in a subset (<32%) of participants. Studies that did not use an evidence-supported definition reported weight gain to be 2.0-4.5 kg, and occurred in the majority >50% of students. Most studies that measured height and weight (71%; 42/59) did not use a fasting protocol and the majority (63%; 37/59) did not conduct measurements at the same time of day. A higher percentage of studies that used a standardized measurement protocol reported weight change >2 kg (44% vs 20%). A lower percentage of studies that used a standardized measurement protocol had substantial variability in weight change estimates (50% vs 69%). The majority of studies that tested predictors of weight gain (74%; 42/57) included weight/BMI as a covariate in analyses.

CONCLUSIONS

The body of literature examining weight change among college students suffers from limitations that may have contributed to overestimations in the percent of students who gain weight, and simultaneous underestimations of the magnitude of weight gain among those who gain weight. Weight gain may be limited to approximately 30% of students in a sample, and weight gain among this subset of students may be substantial (>4 kg). Going forward, use of both an evidence-supported weight gain definition and fasting measurement protocol will likely enhance accuracy in characterizing weight gain among college students, as well as improve researchers' ability to detect important predictors of weight gain.

Increased body weight affects academic performance in university students

For K-12 students, obesity has been linked to student educational achievements. The study objective was to determine whether academic performance in university students is correlated with BMI. Students from two consecutive academic years (Jan–May 2013 and Jan–May 2014) were given an optional class survey in May, as extra credit. Of the 452 students that completed the survey, 204 females and 75 males (N = 279; 73% female and 27% male) consented to participate in the study. The number of correct answers to problem-solving questions (PSQs) and the overall final grade for the class were compared to the calculated BMI using linear regression with a Pearson's R correlation and unpaired t-tests. BMI was significantly negatively correlated with student's final grades (P = 0.001 Pearson's r = − 0.190) and PSQs were positively correlated with final grades (P < 0.001; Pearson's r = 0.357). Our findings show a correlation between healthy body weight and improved academic performance. Further, the data suggest that future research in the area of body weight, diet, and exercise and any correlations of these with academic performance in college students are warranted.

•

The study asked whether BMI affected academic performance in college students.

•

BMI was significantly negatively correlated with student's final grades.

•

Problem solving ability was correlated with student's final grades, but not BMI.