BODY WEIGHT AND RELATIONSHIP QUALITY AMONG WOMEN: Associations of Obesity and Underweight with Relationship Communication, Conflict, and Happiness

Entering romantic relationships is difficult for women with high or low body weights. Once partnered relationships are established, it is unclear whether or how weight is related to relationship quality, with mixed findings in prior studies. Analyses of 3824 women in the 1979 National Longitudinal Surveys of Youth (NLSY79) examined associations of mean relative body weight, obesity, and underweight with relationship communication, conflict, and happiness in 1992-1996, considering both directions of association using cross-sectional and two-year longitudinal multiple regression analyses. The findings revealed few statistically significant associations between relative body weight and relationship quality in either direction. Obesity, weight gain, underweight, and weight loss were associated with relationship unhappiness, and changes in relationship conflict and relationship communication were associated with obesity and underweight. Overall, body weight does not appear to consistently influence or result from relationship quality, which is congruent with family systems theory.