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Mind over Body? The Combined Effect of Objective Body Weight, Perceived Body Weight, and Gender on Illness-Related Absenteeism

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Abstract

This study examined the combined effect of objective and subjective body weight, as well as gender, on illness-related absenteeism. A sample of 162 Hong Kong white-collar employees was surveyed. Using hierarchical regression analysis, we were able to confirm our hypotheses, derived from the objectified body consciousness (OBC) theory, that the positive relationship between objective body weight and illness-related absenteeism is significant among women, not men; and only among those women who consider themselves obese (as opposed to those who do not). This finding supports the concept that a woman’s perception of weight affects whether obesity is more strongly related to illness-related absenteeism.

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  1. Department of Management, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong

    Catherine K. Lam

  2. Department of Management and Marketing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong

    Xu Huang & Warren C. K. Chiu

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  1. Catherine K. Lam
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Lam, C.K., Huang, X. & Chiu, W.C.K. Mind over Body? The Combined Effect of Objective Body Weight, Perceived Body Weight, and Gender on Illness-Related Absenteeism. Sex Roles 63, 277–289 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-010-9779-1

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