Unhappy and Happy Obesity: A Comparative Study on the United States and China
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Some researchers found no association between obesity and aspects of PPWB (positive affect, happiness, self-esteem).
“Still some researchers found no association between obesity and aspects of PPWB (positive affect, happiness, self‐esteem). 44 , 50 , 61”
From Positive psychological well-being in women with obesity: A scoping review of qualitative and quantitative primary research (2022) · cites this paper as [61]
Cites
Overweight, Obesity, and Depression: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Longitudinal Studies
Luppino, F. S., de Wit, L. M., Bouvy, P. F., Stijnen, T., Cuijpers, P., Penninx, B. W. J. H., & Zitman, F. G. (2010) · Archives of General Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2010.2 · Cited by 4,322 · see citing works
Relative Income, Happiness, and Utility: An Explanation for the Easterlin Paradox and Other Puzzles
Clark, A. E., Frijters, P., & Shields, M. A. (2008) · Journal of Economic Literature · doi:10.1257/jel.46.1.95 · Cited by 3,159 · see citing works
Dolan, P., Peasgood, T., & White, M. (2008) · Journal of Economic Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.joep.2007.09.001 · Cited by 3,121 · see citing works
(2020) · PubMed · Cited by 2,642 · see citing works
Beyond money: toward an economy of well-being
Diener, E., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2004) · Psychological Science in the Public Interest · doi:10.1111/j.0963-7214.2004.00501001.x · Cited by 2,555 · see citing works
Frey, B. S., & Stutzer, A. (2002) · Princeton University Press eBooks · doi:10.1515/9781400829262 · Cited by 1,970 · see citing works
Income, Health, and Well-Being around the World: Evidence from the Gallup World Poll
Deaton, A. (2008) · Journal of Economic Perspectives · doi:10.1257/jep.22.2.53 · Cited by 1,636 · see citing works
How's life? Combining individual and national variables to explain subjective well-being
Helliwell, J. F. (2003) · Economic Modelling · doi:10.1016/s0264-9993(02)00057-3 · Cited by 1,407 · see citing works
Easterlin, R. A. (2003) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1633144100 · Cited by 999 · see citing works
The Impact of Obesity on Wages
Cawley, J. (2004) · The Journal of Human Resources · doi:10.3368/jhr.xxxix.2.451 · Cited by 882 · see citing works
Carr, D., & Friedman, M. A. (2005) · Journal of Health and Social Behavior · doi:10.1177/002214650504600303 · Cited by 730 · see citing works
The Impact of Obesity on Wages
Cawley, J. (2004) · The Journal of Human Resources · doi:10.2307/3559022 · Cited by 615 · see citing works
Money, Sex and Happiness: An Empirical Study
Blanchflower, D. G., & Oswald, A. J. (2004) · Scandinavian Journal of Economics · doi:10.1111/j.0347-0520.2004.00369.x · Cited by 455 · see citing works
What makes you click?—Mate preferences in online dating
Hitsch, G. J., Hortaçsu, A., & Ariely, D. (2010) · Quantitative Marketing and Economics · doi:10.1007/s11129-010-9088-6 · Cited by 452 · see citing works
Environmental degradation and happiness
Ada Ferrer-i-carbonell, A., & Gowdy, J. M. (2006) · Ecological Economics · doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2005.12.005 · Cited by 437 · see citing works
The Economic Reality of the Beauty Myth
Averett, S. L., & Korenman, S. D. (1993) · National Bureau of Economic Research · doi:10.3386/w4521 · Cited by 381 · see citing works
Jolly fat: relation between obesity and psychoneurosis in general population.
Crisp, A. H., & McGuiness, B. (1976) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj.1.6000.7 · Cited by 379 · see citing works
The Economic Reality of the Beauty Myth
Averett, S. L., & Korenman, S. D. (1996) · The Journal of Human Resources · doi:10.2307/146065 · Cited by 378 · see citing works
Shields, M. A., & Price, S. W. (2005) · Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A (Statistics in Society) · doi:10.1111/j.1467-985x.2005.00361.x · Cited by 351 · see citing works
Body images and obesity risk among Black females: A review of the literature
Flynn, K. J., & Fitzgibbon, M. (1998) · Annals of Behavioral Medicine · doi:10.1007/bf02893804 · Cited by 297 · see citing works
Health, wealth and happiness: why pursue a higher education?
Hartog, J., & Oosterbeek, H. (1998) · Economics of Education Review · doi:10.1016/s0272-7757(97)00064-2 · Cited by 286 · see citing works
A Global Perspective on Happiness and Fertility
Margolis, R., & Myrskylä, M. (2011) · Population and Development Review · doi:10.1111/j.1728-4457.2011.00389.x · Cited by 255 · see citing works
Happiness and Childbearing Across Europe
Aassve, A., Goisis, A., & Sironi, M. (2011) · Social Indicators Research · doi:10.1007/s11205-011-9866-x · Cited by 223 · see citing works
Building a Better Theory of Well-BeingPreprint
Easterlin, R. A. (2003) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.392043 · Cited by 202 · see citing works
Obesity and depressive symptoms in Chinese elderly
Li, Z. B., Ho, S. Y., Chan, W. M., Ho, K. S., Li, M. P., Leung, G. M., & Lam, T. H. (2004) · International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry · doi:10.1002/gps.1040 · Cited by 166 · see citing works
Obesity, Unhappiness, and the Challenge of Affluence: Theory and EvidencePreprint
Oswald, A. J., & Powdthavee, N. (2007) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.981703 · Cited by 141 · see citing works
Ho, R., Niti, M., Kua, E. H., & Ng, T. P. (2007) · International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry · doi:10.1002/gps.1893 · Cited by 126 · see citing works
Latner, J. D., Durso, L. E., & Mond, J. (2013) · Journal of Eating Disorders · doi:10.1186/2050-2974-1-3 · Cited by 115 · see citing works
Adolescent obesity and life satisfaction: perceptions of self, peers, family, and school.
Forste, R., & Moore, E. (2012) · Economics and Human Biology · doi:10.1016/j.ehb.2012.04.008 · Cited by 102 · see citing works
Oswald, A. J., & Powdthavee, N. (2007) · The Economic Journal · doi:10.1111/j.1468-0297.2007.02077_1.x · Cited by 90 · see citing works
Anthropometry and socioeconomics among couples: Evidence in the United States
Oreffice, S., & Quintana‐Domeque, C. (2010) · Economics & Human Biology · doi:10.1016/j.ehb.2010.05.001 · Cited by 90 · see citing works
Crisp, A. H., Queenan, M., Sittampaln, Y., & Harris, G. (1980) · Journal of Psychosomatic Research · doi:10.1016/0022-3999(80)90013-6 · Cited by 87 · see citing works
Katsaiti, M. S. (2011) · Applied Economics · doi:10.1080/00036846.2011.587779 · Cited by 84 · see citing works
Cawley, J., Joyner, K., & Sobal, J. (2006) · Rationality and Society · doi:10.1177/1043463106060153 · Cited by 81 · see citing works
The Predicted Effects of Chronic Obesity in Middle Age on Medicare Costs and Mortality
Cai, L., Lubitz, J. D., Flegal, K. M., & Pamuk, E. R. (2010) · Medical Care · doi:10.1097/mlr.0b013e3181dbdb20 · Cited by 77 · see citing works
Limitations of Body Mass Index to Assess Body Fat
Buss, J. (2014) · Workplace Health & Safety · doi:10.1177/216507991406200608 · Cited by 76 · see citing works
Do women value marriage more? The effect of obesity on cohabitation and marriage in the USA
Mukhopadhyay, S. (2008) · Review of Economics of the Household · doi:10.1007/s11150-007-9025-y · Cited by 76 · see citing works
Zhang, L., Liu, K., Li, H., Li, D., Chen, Z., Zhang, L.-L., & Guo, L. (2016) · BMC Public Health · doi:10.1186/s12889-016-3864-5 · Cited by 74 · see citing works
Chang, H., & Yen, S. T. (2011) · Aging & Mental Health · doi:10.1080/13607863.2011.605053 · Cited by 63 · see citing works
Yu, N., Chen, C.-Y., Liu, C.-Y., Chau, Y., & Chang, C. (2011) · PubMed · Cited by 59 · see citing works
Body Weight and Matching With a Physically Attractive Romantic Partner
Carmalt, J. H., Cawley, J., Joyner, K., & Sobal, J. (2008) · Journal of Marriage and the Family · doi:10.1111/j.1741-3737.2008.00566.x · Cited by 56 · see citing works
Noh, J., Kim, J., Yang, Y., Park, J., Cheon, J., & Kwon, Y. D. (2017) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0183881 · Cited by 50 · see citing works
The Negative Association of Obesity with Subjective Well-Being: Is it All About Health?
Böckerman, P., Johansson, E., Saarni, S. I., & Saarni, S. E. (2013) · Journal of Happiness Studies · doi:10.1007/s10902-013-9453-8 · Cited by 46 · see citing works
Dong, Q., Liu, J., Zheng, R.-Z., Dong, Y.-H., Feng, X.-W., Li, J., & Huang, F. (2013) · International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry · doi:10.1002/gps.3815 · Cited by 45 · see citing works
Economics and happiness: framing the analysis
(2006) · Choice Reviews Online · doi:10.5860/choice.44-1035 · Cited by 45 · see citing works
Deaton, A., & Grosh, M. (1998) · RePEc: Research Papers in Economics · Cited by 42 · see citing works
Life satisfaction, overweightness and obesity
Kuroki, M. (2016) · International Journal of Wellbeing · doi:10.5502/ijw.v6i2.519 · Cited by 41 · see citing works
Sex disparity and perception of obesity/overweight by parents and grandparents
Li, J., Lei, J., Wen, S. W., & Zhou, L. (2014) · Paediatrics & Child Health · doi:10.1093/pch/19.7.e113 · Cited by 40 · see citing works
Height, Weight and Well-Being for Rural, Urban and Migrant Workers in China
Lee, W., & Zhao, Z. (2015) · Social Indicators Research · doi:10.1007/s11205-015-1143-y · Cited by 28 · see citing works
Overweight and obesity standards and subjective well-being: Evidence from China
Zeng, Q., & Yu, X. (2019) · Economics & Human Biology · doi:10.1016/j.ehb.2019.02.006 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
Lee, Y., & Sun, L. (2013) · 대한지역사회영양학회지 · doi:10.5720/kjcn.2013.18.1.25 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
Krug, I., Fuller‐Tyszkiewicz, M., Micali, N., Anderluh, M. B., Fernández‐Aranda, F., Tchanturia, K., Karwautz, A. F. K., Wagner, G., Collier, D. A., & Treasure, J. L. (2013) · Journal of Eating Disorders · doi:10.1186/2050-2974-1-s1-o43 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Heterogeneous effects of obesity on mental health: Evidence from Mexico
Bargain, O., & Zeidan, J. (2019) · Health Economics · doi:10.1002/hec.3852 · Cited by 10 · see citing works
Shafer, E. F. (2010) · Journal of Family Issues · doi:10.1177/0192513x10366006 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
2 of the 56 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.
Cited by
Sorted by citations
O’Loughlin, J., Casanova, F., Fairhurst-Hunter, Z., Hughes, A., Bowden, J., Watkins, E. R., Freathy, R. M., Millwood, I. Y., Lin, K., Chen, Z., et al. (2023) · BMC Medicine · doi:10.1186/s12916-023-02735-8 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
The reciprocal longitudinal relationship between body mass index and subjective well-being in China
Fang, J., Wen, Z., Ouyang, J., Huang, G., & Liu, X. (2022) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.114829 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
Conradson, H. E., Hayden, K. A., Russell‐Mayhew, S., Raffin Bouchal, S., & King‐Shier, K. (2022) · Obesity Science & Practice · doi:10.1002/osp4.605 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
“Still some researchers found no association between obesity and aspects of PPWB (positive affect, happiness, self‐esteem).(44,50,61) Though PPWB was significantly lower for women with obesity overall, women who were in a sub‐cohort of those who reported higher economic status, employment, education, health, relationsh…”
BackgroundMethodInfluence of body mass index on health complains and life satisfaction
Prieto-Latorre, C., López-Agudo, L. A., & Gutiérrez, Ó. D. M. (2023) · Quality of Life Research · doi:10.1007/s11136-023-03557-0 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
The impact of obesity and income on happiness: Evidence from EU countries
Kasman, S., & Kasman, A. (2021) · Panoeconomicus · doi:10.2298/pan200311001k · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Wang‐Chen, Y., Yang, H. M., Kellow, N. J., & Choi, T. S. T. (2025) · Obesity Reviews · doi:10.1111/obr.13913 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Xiao, N., Ma, Y., Zhao, Y., Li, P., Li, Z., & Yang, J. (2025) · Frontiers in Public Health · doi:10.3389/fpubh.2025.1570705 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
BMI and well-being in people of East Asian and European ancestry: a Mendelian randomisation study
O’Loughlin, J., Casanova, F., Hughes, A., Fairhurst-Hunter, Z., Li, L., Chen, Z., China Kadoorie Biobank Collaborative Group, Bowden, J., Watkins, E. R., Freathy, R. M., et al. (2023) · Translational Psychiatry · doi:10.1038/s41398-023-02539-7 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Iturra, V., & Sarrias, M. (2022) · Child Indicators Research · doi:10.1007/s12187-022-09973-x · Cited by 5 · see citing works
The endogeneity issue in longitudinal research: Sources and solutions
Junyan, F. A. N. G., & Zhonglin, W. E. N. (2022) · Advances in Psychological Science · doi:10.3724/sp.j.1042.2023.00507 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Li, D., Ruan, Y., Kang, Q., & Rong, C. (2023) · Brazilian Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.47626/1516-4446-2022-3025 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Why do low spirits last? Investigating correlates of cumulative unhappiness using German panel data
Bittmann, F. (2024) · Current Psychology · doi:10.1007/s12144-023-05559-0 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
The Scale Goes Up, the Joy Goes Down? Investigating the Causal Effect of Body Weight on Happiness
Bittmann, F. (2024) · International Journal of Applied Positive Psychology · doi:10.1007/s41042-024-00203-z · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Enhancing health survey data modeling through mixed-effects machine learning: A comparative study
Oktora, S. I., Matualage, D., Notodiputro, K. A., & Sartono, B. (2026) · Statistical Journal of the IAOS · doi:10.1177/18747655261418172 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Davies, M. E. (2023) · European journal of behavioral sciences · doi:10.33422/ejbs.v6i3.1085
Çaynak, S., Göktaş, A., & Arslan, B. Ş. (2025) · Bariatric Surgical Practice and Patient Care · doi:10.1089/bari.2024.0014
O’Loughlin, J., Casanova, F., Fairhurst-Hunter, Z., Hughes, A., Bowden, J., Watkins, E. R., Freathy, R. M., Millwood, I. Y., Lin, K., Chen, Z., et al. (2023) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.22603064
O’Loughlin, J., Casanova, F., Fairhurst-Hunter, Z., Hughes, A., Bowden, J., Watkins, E. R., Freathy, R. M., Millwood, I. Y., Lin, K., Chen, Z., et al. (2023) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.22603067
O’Loughlin, J., Casanova, F., Fairhurst-Hunter, Z., Hughes, A., Bowden, J., Watkins, E. R., Freathy, R. M., Millwood, I. Y., Lin, K., Chen, Z., et al. (2023) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.22603070
Huang, X., & Li, X. (2026) · Acta Psychologica · doi:10.1016/j.actpsy.2026.106370
Wu, J., Jiao, B., Ma, J., Li, R., & Zhao, J. (2026) · Journal of Epidemiology and Global Health · doi:10.1007/s44197-026-00516-z
Bakari, W. (2026) · Pan-African Journal of Health and Psychological Sciences · doi:10.64261/yjwz7428
- Authors
- Sato, K.
- Affiliations
- Takushoku University (JP)
- Corresponding author
- Sato, Kazuma
- ORCID
- Sato, Kazuma
- Venue
- Journal of Happiness Studies
- Published
- 2020-05-29
- Volume
- 22
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 1259-1285
- ISSN
- 1389-4978 (ISSN-L)
- 1573-7780
- OpenAlex
- W3031107724
- Cited by
- 22
- References
- 56
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 1
- FWCI
- 4.78
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Happiness Studies (publishedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (17KT0037)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › Pharmacy › Obesity and Health Practices
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet
- Keywords
- obesity, subjective well-being, happiness, overweight, underweight, gender differences, cross-cultural comparison, weight stigma, China, United States
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
