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The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences Advance Access originally published online on April 7, 2009
The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences 2009 64B(5):656-665; doi:10.1093/geronb/gbn044
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© The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org.

The Effect of Retirement on Weight

Sukyung Chung1, Marisa E. Domino2 and Sally C. Stearns2

1 Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies, University of California, San Francisco
2 Department of Health Policy and Management, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Address correspondence to Sukyung Chung, PhD, Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies, University of California, San Francisco, 795 El Camino Real, Palo Alto, CA 94301. Email: sukyung.chung{at}ucsf.edu


  Abstract

Objectives: People who are close to retirement age show the highest rates of weight gain and obesity. We investigate the effect of retirement on the change in body mass index (BMI) in diverse groups varying by wealth status and occupation type.

Methods: Six panels of the Health and Retirement Study (1992–2002) on individuals aged 50–71 were used (N = 37,807). We used fixed-effects regression models with instrumental variables method to estimate the causal effect of retirement on change in the BMI.

Results: Retirement leads to modest weight gain, 0.24 BMI on average. Weight gain with retirement was found among people who were already overweight and those with lower wealth retiring from physically demanding occupations. The cumulative effect of aging among people in their 50s, however, outweighs the effect of retirement; the average BMI gain between ages 50 and 60 is 1.30, 5 times the effect of retirement.

Conclusions: Given the increasing number of people approaching retirement age, the population level impact of the weight gain ascribed to retirement on health outcomes and health care system might be significant. Future research should evaluate programs targeted to older adults who are most likely to gain weight with retirement.

Key Words: Retirement • Obesity • Body mass index • Occupation • Wealth

Received June 4, 2008; Accepted December 12, 2008

Decision Editor: Kenneth F. Ferraro, PhD


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