A new study reveals that sexual orientation may be an indicator of weight and health.
In a report published in the Journal of Public Health, researchers at University College London and University of East Anglia in the UK say that lesbian and bisexual women are more likely to be overweight than their heterosexual female counterparts. Conversely, they also found that gay men are less likely to be overweight than straight men.
Lead researcher Dr. Joanna Semlyen believes certain “psychosocial stressors” put on the homosexual community in particular make sexual identity a valid “social determinant of health.”
She tells The Guardian, “These stressors include homophobia and heterosexism … and are known to be linked to health.”
Results on either side of the sexual orientation spectrum are “worrying,” says Semlyen, as there are a number of health concerns associated with being overweight and underweight.
This study collected data from 12 UK national health surveys consisting of 93,429 participants, and is considered the first of its kind to investigate a correlation between sexual identity and body mass index. Semlyen notes that these surveys did not record sexual orientation until 2008.