Dr. Hui Zheng, Department of Sociology
Rank at the time of award: Assistant Professor
Abstract
This project intends to investigate the effects of obesity on mortality from life course perspective: the effect of early life conditions on adult obesity status and how this may vary by gender and over the life course, the effect of selection biases on the estimates of age variation in the obesity-mortality link, and the heterogeneity and mortality risk of obesity trajectories. This project will contribute to the cutting-edge research in obesity: (1) whether obesity is rooted in early life conditions or shaped by concurrent adulthood conditions; (2) whether the effect of obesity on mortality may increase or decrease over the life course; and (3) to what extent obesity may pose a threat to future gains in life expectancy.
Publications resulting from this seed grant:
Zheng, Hui. “A New Look at Cohort Trend and Underlying Mechanisms in Cognitive Functioning.” The Journals of Gerontology: Social Sciences. 2021 Sep 13;76(8):1652-1663 PMCID: PMC8436693
Zheng, Hui, Jonathan Dirlam, and Paola Echave. “Divergent Trends in the Effects of Early-Life Factors on Adult Health.” Population Research and Policy Review. 40, pages1119–1148 (2021) PMCID: PMC8562493
Zheng, Hui, and Paola Echave. 2021. “Are Recent Cohorts Getting Worse? Trends in U.S. Adult Physiological Status, Mental Health, and Health Behaviors across a Century of Birth Cohorts.” American Journal of Epidemiology 190(11): 2242-2255. Acknowledged- PMCID: PMC8799895
Zheng, Hui, Paola Echave, and Neil Mehta. “Obesity-Mortality Link over the Life Course: The Contribution of Population Compositional Changes.” Biodemography and Social Biology. Jan-Mar 2020;66(1):50-68 PMCID: PMC7951144
Zheng, Hui, Paola Echave, Neil Mehta, and Mikko Myrskyla. 2021. “Life-long Body Mass Index Trajectories and Mortality in Two Generations.” Annals of Epidemiology 56: 18-25. PMCID: PMC8009819