Health & Wealth: is weight loss success related to monetary savings in U.S. adults of low-income? Findings from a National Study

BMC Public Health

Bob M. Fennis¹  Amir Grinstein²  Kerem Shuval³  Qing Li³  Jeffrey Drope³  Meike Morren⁴ 

[1] Department of Marketing, University of Groningen;D’Amore‐McKim School of Business, Northeastern University;Economic and Health Policy Research Program, Department of Intramural Research, American Cancer Society;Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam;

关键词: Weight loss;    Monetary savings;    Self-regulation;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12889-019-7711-3

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Abstract Background Many individuals aspire to attain various goals in life, such as committing to a healthful diet to slim down or saving for retirement to enhance future welfare. While these behaviors (weight loss and saving) share the common denominator of self-regulation, it is unclear whether success in one domain is related to the other. Therefore, we examined the relationship between long term weight loss (LTWL) success and monetary savings among U.S. adults who at one point in life diverged from normal weight status. Methods Data on 1994 adults with a maximum BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2 and with an annual household income equal or less than 200% poverty level. Data were derived from a U.S. population-based study (NHANES). The independent variable was LTWL success (loss maintained for at least 1 year), which was operationalized as < 10% (reference group), 10.00–19.99%, and ≥ 20.00%. The dependent variable was monetary savings (e.g., 401 K), defined as a 3-category ordinal variable. We employed ordered logistic regression to estimate the relationship between LTWL success and increased odds for higher overall savings. Results Multivariable analysis revealed that adjusting for income, education and other covariates, being in the highest LTWL category (≥20.00%) significantly reduced the likelihood of monetary savings in comparison to the reference group (OR = 0.55, 95%CI = 0.34–0.91). This relationship was not observed in the lower LTWL category (10.00–19.99%). Conclusions Adults who in the past were overweight or obese and who presently exhibit high levels of LTWL, were markedly less successful when it came to their finances. This might stem from significant cognitive-affective resources exerted during the weight loss process coupled with a paucity of financial resources which impede financial decision making. This supposition, however, warrants future research.

【 授权许可】

Unknown