Body Weight and the Quality of Interpersonal Relationships*

rapidly in the developed world over the past 20 years. The World Health Organization (1998) describes this pattern as a “global epidemic.” In the United States, one-quarter of adults are obese, with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher; 50 to 60 percent are classified as overweight or obese with a BMI of 25 or higher (Flegal et al. 2002). Although obesity is increasingly common in the United States and elsewhere, obese individuals still are regarded as one of the last acceptable targets of stigmatization (Allon 1981; Carr and Friedman 2005; Puhl and Brownell 2001, 2003). Unflattering portrayals of obese persons pervade popular culture, while multiple studies document that children, adults, and even health care professionals who work with obese patients hold negative attitudes towards them (Crandall and Schiffhauer 1998; Greenberg et al. 2003). Although multiple studies document the pervasiveness of prejudicial attitudes toward obese persons, few researchers have explored whether overweight and obese adults themselves experience poorer relationships with significant others, including spouse, family, friends, and coworkers. This line of inquiry is important, given the well-documented links between social relationships and emotional and physical health (Cohen and Syme 1985). Supportive relationships may help individuals to manage their weight and may help to buffer against the distress associated with weight-based discrimination and health problems (House, Landis, and Umberson 1988). Strained relationships, in contrast, may contribute to the onset and persistence of obesity, and may exacerbate weight-related health concerns (Okun and Keith 1998). The purpose of our study is to explore the relation between body weight and the perceived quality of interpersonal relationships in the United States. We use data from the Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS) survey, a random sample of more than 3,000 men and women ages 25 to 74 in 1995, in order to examine whether positive and negative interactions with family members, friends, spouse, and coworkers differ among underweight, normal-weight, overSocial Psychology Quarterly 2006, Vol. 69, No. 2, 127–149