TY - JOUR
T1 - The Skinny on Success
T2 - Body mass, gender and occupational standing across the life course
AU - Glass, Christy M.
AU - Haas, Steven A.
AU - Reither, Eric N.
N1 - Funding Information:
Order of authorship is alphabetical reflecting equal contributions by the authors. This research was supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health and Society Scholars program, the Harvard Center for Society and Health and the Utah Agricultural Experiment Station, Utah State University, Logan, Utah. We are grateful to three anonymous Social Forces reviewers for their helpful comments on previous drafts. Direct correspondence to Christy M. Glass, Department of Sociology, Social Work & Anthropology, Utah State University, 0730 Old Main Hill, Logan, Utah 84322-0730. E-mail: [email protected].
PY - 2010/6
Y1 - 2010/6
N2 - Several studies have analyzed the impact of obesity on occupational standing. This study extends previous research by estimating the influence of body mass on occupational attainment over three decades of the career using data from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study. In a series of covariance structure analyses, we considered three mechanisms that may alter the career trajectories of heavy individuals: (1. employment-based discrimination, (2. educational attainment, and (3. marriage market processes. Unlike previous studies, we found limited evidence that employment-based discrimination impaired the career trajectories of either men or women. Instead, we found that heavy women received less post-secondary schooling than their thinner peers, which in turn adversely affected their occupational standing at each point in their careers.
AB - Several studies have analyzed the impact of obesity on occupational standing. This study extends previous research by estimating the influence of body mass on occupational attainment over three decades of the career using data from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study. In a series of covariance structure analyses, we considered three mechanisms that may alter the career trajectories of heavy individuals: (1. employment-based discrimination, (2. educational attainment, and (3. marriage market processes. Unlike previous studies, we found limited evidence that employment-based discrimination impaired the career trajectories of either men or women. Instead, we found that heavy women received less post-secondary schooling than their thinner peers, which in turn adversely affected their occupational standing at each point in their careers.
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U2 - 10.1353/sof.2010.0012
DO - 10.1353/sof.2010.0012
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:78049231911
SN - 0037-7732
VL - 88
SP - 1777
EP - 1806
JO - Social Forces
JF - Social Forces
IS - 4
ER -
