Michelle L. Frisco,
Population Research Institute, Pennsylvania State University
Obesity is one of the largest population health problems facing the United States because of its consequences for health and longevity. Obesity also has a profound impact on childbearing. Clinicians have documented physical problems that impede obese women’s ability to become and stay pregnant when they attempt to conceive. Michelle Frisco, a Penn State Population Research Institute (PRI) research associate, has collaborated with Margaret Weden at the RAND Corporation and several alumni of Penn State’s dual-degree Demography PhD program to further understand how obesity affects childbearing. Results from these studies suggest that obesity has long-ranging consequences for lifetime childbearing, not simply consequences at the time of attempted conception. This work also shows that contextual factors can modify the way that body weight influences childbearing.
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