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College Climate and Sexual Orientation Differences in Weight Status

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Abstract

Previous research has identified significant sexual orientation disparities in obesity. Contextual factors, like lack of anti-discrimination policies and gay-straight alliances, have been shown to be associated with health outcomes like poor mental health and substance use for lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals moreso than their heterosexual counterparts; however, little work to date has explored the role of contextual factors on sexual orientation disparities in obesity. Individual-level, serial cross-sectional data from the 2009–2013 College Student Health Survey, which includes 2- and 4-year college students (n = 29,118) attending 46 Minnesota colleges, were used. College-level data on LGB context were primarily collected through college websites. Multinomial logistic regression models were fit to examine associations between LGB college climate scores (including non-discrimination policies, presence of LGB or diversity-related student groups, LGB courses offered, LGB housing accommodations, and prevalence of LGB students) and students’ weight status (underweight, healthy weight, overweight, and obese), based on self-reported height and weight. Higher LGB climate scores (i.e., more supportive environments) were associated with lower risk of overweight and obesity among all students. Sexual orientation-stratified findings among female students suggested that the association between LGB climate scores and weight status was similar to the overall female sample. Sexual orientation-stratified findings among male students showed a more complex relationship between LGB climate scores and weight status. More work is needed to disentangle the observed associations, and to investigate other contextual factors, like state- and city-level policies, social networks and norms, and individual resiliency within these contexts to better understand the contextual influences on sexual orientation disparities in obesity.

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Funding

The study was supported, in part, by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD) of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R21HD073120 (PI: M. Laska). Further support on this project was provided, in part, by NIDDK Award Number T32DK083250. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official view of the National Institutes of Health.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, University of Massachusetts Amherst, School of Public Health and Health Sciences, Amherst, MA, 01003, USA

    Nicole A. VanKim

  2. Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, University of Minnesota School of Public Health, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA

    Marla E. Eisenberg, Darin J. Erickson & Melissa N. Laska

  3. Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Health, University of Minnesota School of Medicine, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA

    Marla E. Eisenberg

  4. University of Minnesota, Boynton Health, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA

    Katherine Lust

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  1. Nicole A. VanKim
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  2. Marla E. Eisenberg
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  4. Katherine Lust
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  5. Melissa N. Laska
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Correspondence to Nicole A. VanKim.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

This study utilized publically available data and secondary analysis of previously collected anonymous survey data, which met criteria for exemption by the University of Minnesota Institutional Review Board (IRB) review. The University of Minnesota IRB approved all CSHS primary data collection prior to this study.

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Informed consent was obtained for all participants in the study.

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Part of the work described was conducted while Dr. VanKim was at University of Minnesota School of Public Health, Division of Epidemiology and Community Health

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VanKim, N.A., Eisenberg, M.E., Erickson, D.J. et al. College Climate and Sexual Orientation Differences in Weight Status. Prev Sci 21, 422–433 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-019-01061-x

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