Association of weight change patterns in late adolescence with young adult wage differentials: A multilevel longitudinal study

BACKGROUND: Numerous studies have demonstrated that different weight change patterns from adolescence to adulthood may exert different effects on opportunities from which individuals subsequently benefit. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate the association of weight change patterns from late adolescence to young adulthood with monthly wage in young adulthood for both genders in Taiwan. METHODS: A nationally representative retrospective panel of 3730 young people (1707 men and 2023 women) from the Taiwan Educational Panel Survey (2001–2014) was included. Individuals were divided into four weight-change-pattern categories based on changes in their body mass index at two time points that were 7 years apart, between late adolescence (aged 18–19 years) and young adulthood (aged 25–26 years). These categories were (1) no obesity, (2) obesity reversal, (3) developing obesity, and (4) persistent obesity. Cross-classified, hierarchical linear regression modeling analysis was performed to explore the association of weight change patterns with monthly wage in young adulthood, after adjustment for both individual- and contextual-level variables. RESULTS: Of the weight-change-pattern categories for both genders, individuals with persistent obesity had the lowest monthly wage. For women, the mean monthly wage decreased progressively for the categories of no obesity, obesity reversal, developing obesity, and persistent obesity (test for difference, P = 0.016; test for trend, P = 0.026). Women with persistent obesity earned 20% less per month than did those who were never obese (P = 0.024), after controlling for individual and contextual factors. For men, no association was found between weight change patterns and monthly wage. CONCLUSION: Persistent obesity from late adolescence to young adulthood is associated with low monthly wage in young adulthood in women but not in men. These findings highlight the urgency of addressing persistent obesity early in life, especially for women.