Centre for Policy on Ageing



Older women's perceptions of ideal body weights — the tensions between health and appearance motivations for weight loss
Author(s)	Laura Hurd Clarke
Journal title	Ageing and Society, vol 22, part 6, November 2002
Pages	pp 751-774
Keywords	Older women ; Weight ; Health [elderly] ; Attitude ; Social surveys.
Annotation	Using data from semi-structured interviews with 22 community-dwelling women aged 61 to 92 years, the meanings that the women attribute to dieting, desired body weights and obesity were examined. Health tends to be described as a valid justification for being concerned with one's weight, whilst an appearance orientation is deemed to be indicative of vanity. Many of the women suggest that while the health benefits of weight loss are often the stated reason for losing weight, the perceived appearance dividends are the key motivation behind altering one's body weight in late life. (KJ/RH).
Accession Number	CPA-021209205 A
Classmark	BD: 4X6: CC: DP: 3F
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing

...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing.