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Size Matters

Author

Listed:
  • John Cawley

    (Cornell University, USA, JHC38@cornell.edu)

  • Kara Joyner

    (Cornell University, USA, kj34@cornell.edu)

  • Jeffery Sobal

    (Cornell University, USA, js57@cornell.edu)

Abstract

We examine the relationship between body size (specifically, weight and height) and dating and sexual activity using two large, nationally representative, longitudinal data sets. Our conceptual framework assumes that the utility an adolescent derives from dating and sexual activity is a function of the weight and height of his or her partner, and it predicts that heavier and shorter adolescents will be less likely to date and have sex. Empirical tests confirm that dating is less likely among heavier girls and boys and among shorter girls and boys. In adolescent dating, size clearly matters. For sexual activity, the results are less consistent.

Suggested Citation

  • John Cawley & Kara Joyner & Jeffery Sobal, 2006. "Size Matters," Rationality and Society, , vol. 18(1), pages 67-94, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ratsoc:v:18:y:2006:i:1:p:67-94
    DOI: 10.1177/1043463106060153
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Victor R. Fuchs, 1982. "Economic Aspects of Health," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number fuch82-1, March.
    2. Victor R. Fuchs, 1982. "Time Preference and Health: An Exploratory Study," NBER Chapters, in: Economic Aspects of Health, pages 93-120, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Pfann, Gerard A. & Biddle, Jeff E. & Hamermesh, Daniel S. & Bosman, Ciska M., 2000. "Business success and businesses' beauty capital," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 67(2), pages 201-207, May.
    4. Christopher Browning & Tama Leventhal & Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, 2004. "Neighborhood context and racial differences in early adolescent sexual activity," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 41(4), pages 697-720, November.
    5. John Cawley, 2004. "The Impact of Obesity on Wages," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 39(2).
    6. Fuchs, Victor R. (ed.), 1982. "Economic Aspects of Health," National Bureau of Economic Research Books, University of Chicago Press, number 9780226267852, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Susan Averett & Hope Corman & Nancy E. Reichman, 2013. "Effects Of Overweight On Risky Sexual Behavior Of Adolescent Girls," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 51(1), pages 605-619, January.
    2. van Quaquebeke, N. & Giessner, S.R., 2010. "How Embodied Cognitions Affect Judgments: Height-Related Attribution Bias in Football Foul Calls," ERIM Report Series Research in Management ERS-2010-006-ORG, Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM), ERIM is the joint research institute of the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University and the Erasmus School of Economics (ESE) at Erasmus University Rotterdam.
    3. Yen-hsin Alice Cheng & Nancy S. Landale, 2010. "Teen overweight, weight stigma, and intimate relationship development from adolescence to young adulthood," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2010-008, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    4. Richard V. Burkhauser & John Cawley & Maximilian D. Schmeiser, 2009. "Differences in the U.S. Trends in the Prevalence of Obesity Based on Body Mass Index and Skinfold Thickness," NBER Working Papers 15005, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

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