Employment Status and BMI (Body Mass Index): Moderating Effect of Gender

Previous research has examined individual characteristics to investigate disparities in body mass index (BMI). Employment status is a critical socioeconomic condition which has diverse influences on BMI. Workplace is a fundamental social context in which people develop regulatory social relationships and workers come to have healthy eating habits as a result. In addition, women in workplace are more disadvantaged in job security than males because of long-standing male-oriented social hierarchy system, so female workers may feel stronger psychological distress and unhealthy eating habits as a result. In the meanwhile, female workers may show lower BMI than male counterparts because females tend to regulate their eating habits to look attractive when they are involved in social community. Using 2010 Korean General Social Survey, the authors examine whether employment status is associated with body mass index(BMI) with adjustment for correlates. We also investigate whether gender moderates this association. Our findings reveal that being employed is associated with increased BMI with adjustment for confounders. Results of regression which tests an interaction term of employment status and gender demonstrate that female workers show lower levels of BMI than male workers.