Over the past 20 years, there has been a dramatic increase in obesity in the United States
(CDC 2011). The more prominent causes of obesity are credited to a combination of excessive
energy intake and lack of physical activity. Although these factors are highly correlated with
obesity, there are underlying social factors that may lead to a better understanding of this
epidemic and offer other points of intervention. This presentation will focus on education level as
the prime social factor and how it relates to obesity. It is well documented that education is
inversely associated with the prevalence of obesity. However, the mechanisms by which this
association operates are still poorly understood. Using data (sponsored by the Bureau of Labor
Statistics) from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979, we analyze the risk of obesity
relative to educational aspirations, attainment, and expectations; intelligence, and best friend’s
educational aspirations. Understanding the different aspects of education is important because
having an education is usually a quantitative factor when assessing one’s socioeconomic status.
This is pertinent to the public health notion that there exists a social gradient in health that leaves
those that are the most poor to suffer the worst health.