Sexual orientation and weight, body image, and weight control practices among young Australian women

Abstract

Objectives: We compare weight, body image, and weight control practices of young adult Australian women according to sexual orientation. Methods: Cross-sectional analyses of the second survey of 9683 young adult women in the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health (ALSWH); the weight, weight control practices, and body image of exclusively heterosexual, mainly heterosexual, bisexual, and lesbian women were compared. Results: Lesbians were less likely to be dissatisfied with their body image (body weight: β -0.64, 95% CI -1.10- -0.18; body shape: β -0.83, 95% CI -1.27- -0.40; overall: β -0.74, 95% CI -1.14- -0.32), to cut down on fats and sugars (OR 0.53, 95% CI 0.34-0.85), and to eng..