TY - JOUR
T1 - Relationships between body mass index and well-being in young Australian women
AU - Brown, W. J.
AU - Mishra, G.
AU - Kenardy, J.
AU - Dobson, A.
N1 - Funding Information:
The Women's Health Australia project, which was conceived and developed by groups of inter-disciplinary researchers at the Universities of Newcastle and Queensland, is funded by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care. The assistance of Joy Goldsworthy with the preparation of this paper is also gratefully acknowledged. Finally, we would l ike to thank all the participants for their valuable contribution to this project.
PY - 2000
Y1 - 2000
N2 - OBJECTIVE: To explore relationships between body mass index (BMI, kg/m2) and indicators of health and well-being in young Australian women. DESIGN: Population based cohort study - baseline cross sectional data. SUBJECTS: 14,779 women aged 18-23 who participated in the baseline survey of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health in 1996. MEASUREMENTS: Self-reported height, weight, medical conditions, symptoms and SF-36. RESULTS: The majority of women (68%) had a BMI in the range 18.5- <25; 12% had a BMI <18.5; 14% had a BMI in the range 25- <30 and 6% had a BMI ≥30. After adjustment for area of residence, age, education, smoking and exercise, women in the highest BMI category (≥30) were more likely to report hypertension, asthma, headaches, back pain, sleeping difficulties, irregular periods, and more visits to their medical practitioner. They were also more likely to have given birth at least once, and less likely to report 'low iron'. Women with low BMI (<18.5) were more likely to report irregular periods and 'low iron'. Mean scores on the SF-36 sub-scales for physical functioning, general health and vitality were highest for women with BMI in the range 18.5-25. CONCLUSION: Acknowledging the limits of the cross-sectional nature of the data, the results show that the deleterious effects of overweight can be seen at a comparatively young age, and that BMI <25 is associated with fewer indicators of morbidity in young women. However, as BMI <18.5 is associated with low iron and irregular periods, care should be taken when developing strategies to prevent overweight in young woman, not to encourage women with healthy weight to strive for a lower BMI.
AB - OBJECTIVE: To explore relationships between body mass index (BMI, kg/m2) and indicators of health and well-being in young Australian women. DESIGN: Population based cohort study - baseline cross sectional data. SUBJECTS: 14,779 women aged 18-23 who participated in the baseline survey of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health in 1996. MEASUREMENTS: Self-reported height, weight, medical conditions, symptoms and SF-36. RESULTS: The majority of women (68%) had a BMI in the range 18.5- <25; 12% had a BMI <18.5; 14% had a BMI in the range 25- <30 and 6% had a BMI ≥30. After adjustment for area of residence, age, education, smoking and exercise, women in the highest BMI category (≥30) were more likely to report hypertension, asthma, headaches, back pain, sleeping difficulties, irregular periods, and more visits to their medical practitioner. They were also more likely to have given birth at least once, and less likely to report 'low iron'. Women with low BMI (<18.5) were more likely to report irregular periods and 'low iron'. Mean scores on the SF-36 sub-scales for physical functioning, general health and vitality were highest for women with BMI in the range 18.5-25. CONCLUSION: Acknowledging the limits of the cross-sectional nature of the data, the results show that the deleterious effects of overweight can be seen at a comparatively young age, and that BMI <25 is associated with fewer indicators of morbidity in young women. However, as BMI <18.5 is associated with low iron and irregular periods, care should be taken when developing strategies to prevent overweight in young woman, not to encourage women with healthy weight to strive for a lower BMI.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0033779081&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1038/sj.ijo.0801384
DO - 10.1038/sj.ijo.0801384
M3 - Article
C2 - 11093300
AN - SCOPUS:0033779081
SN - 0307-0565
VL - 24
SP - 1360
EP - 1368
JO - International Journal of Obesity
JF - International Journal of Obesity
IS - 10
ER -
