OBESITY, SOCIAL-CLASS, AND MENTAL-ILLNESS

The relationship between obesity and mental health was investigated, u sing data obtained from 1,660 persons selected as representative of 11 0,000 inhabitants of a residential area of New York City, In addition to confirming the previously noted relationship between obesity and ag e, preliminary analysis revealed a striking relationship between obesi ty and socioeconomic status of origin, The prevalence of obesity was 7 times higher among women reared in the lowest social class category a s compared with those reared in the highest category, Scores made by t he obese respondents on 9 mental health indices were compared with sco res made by individuals of average weight, The obese respondents made more pathological scores on 8 of the 9 measures and on 3 of these the difference was statistically significant (''immaturity,'' ''rigidity,' ' and ''suspiciousness'').