Devil in Deerskins: My Life with Grey Owl by Anahareo

Review of Anaharea\u27s Devil in Deerskins: My Life with Grey Owl

The association between socioeconomic status and adult fast-food consumption in the U.S.

Health follows a socioeconomic status (SES) gradient in developed countries, with disease prevalence falling as SES rises. This pattern is partially attributed to differences in nutritional intake, with the poor eating the least healthy diets. This paper examines whether there is an SES gradient in one specific aspect of nutrition: fast-food consumption. Fast food is generally high in calories and low in nutrients. We use data from the 2008, 2010, and 2012 waves of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY79) to test whether adult fast-food consumption in the United States falls as monetary resources rise (n = 8136). This research uses more recent data than previous fast-food studies and includes a comprehensive measure of wealth in addition to income to measure SES. We find little evidence of a gradient in adult fast-food consumption with respect to wealth. While adults in the highest quintile are 54.5% less likely to report fast-food consumption than those in the lowest quintile, adults in the second and third quintiles are no less likely to report fast food–food intake than the poorest. Contrary to popular belief, fast-food consumption rises as income rises from the lowest to middle quintiles. The variation in adult fast-food consumption across income and wealth groups is, however, small. Those in the wealthiest quintile ate about one less fast-food meal on average than those in the lowest quintile. Other factors play a bigger role in explaining fast-food consumption: reading ingredient labels is negatively associated while soda consumption and hours of work are positively associated with fast-food consumption.Accepted manuscrip

“Do I look fat?” Self-perceived body weight and labor market outcomes

Research reporting that greater body weight is associated with lower wages and employment, particularly among women, focuses on how employers perceive workers. In contrast, we examine whether workers’ own perceptions of body weight influence labor market outcomes. Numerous studies find that misperception of body weight influences health behaviors and health, both mental and physical. For example, anorexia nervosa involves the over-perception of weight and raises the risk of cardiovascular disease. Do the health consequences of inaccurate self-perceived weight carry through to the labor market? We use the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (NLSY97) to investigate patterns in weight misperception and three labor market outcomes. We find little evidence that either over-perception or under-perception of weight is associated with wages, weeks worked, or the number of jobs held for women and men.Accepted manuscrip

Does asthma impair wealth accumulation or does wealth protect against asthma?

OBJECTIVE: We investigate the association between adult asthma and wealth, testing whether the disease impairs wealth accumulation (social selection model) or if wealth protects against asthma (social causation model). METHODS: We use the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (n = 7,644) and linear and logistic regressions to estimate the association between wealth and asthma. Changes in relative wealth following an asthma diagnosis and asthma status by increases in wealth through inheritance provide evidence on the causal direction. RESULTS: Asthma, particularly severe asthma, is associated with lower wealth. Wealth ranking does not change after a diagnosis of asthma, but inheriting a substantial sum is associated with a lower risk of severe asthma. CONCLUSION: Wealth appears to protect against severe asthma, supporting the social causation model of disease.Accepted manuscrip

Cultural Comparison of Chronic Conditions, Functional Status, and Acceptance in Older African-American and White Adults

Acceptance of functional decline accompanying chronic illness is challenging for all elders, and even more so for African-American elders. This study examined functional status and the number, types, and acceptance of chronic conditions in 16 African-American and 46 White elders. African-American elders reported better functioning but resembled Whites in number of chronic conditions and acceptance. All African-Americans reported hypertension; 76% of Whites reported arthritis. Greater acceptance was correlated with fewer chronic conditions (r = -.23, p \u3c .05) and better functioning (r = -.59, p \u3c .01). Poorer functioning (i.e., functional disability) was correlated with more chronic conditions (r = .27, p \u3c .05). Culturally sensitive interventions are needed to enhance elders\u27 acceptance of chronic conditions and to improve their functioning