Both body weight and educational attainment have risen in the United States. Empirical evidence regarding educational differences in @entity28 (BMI >= 30) is inconsistent. According to some widely cited claims, these differences have declined since the 1970s, and the most educated have experienced the greatest gain in @entity28 . Prior research was limited in grouping college graduates with nongraduates, combining @entity1 and @entity1 in the same analysis, and using self-reported rather than measured anthropometric information. Using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES), we address these issues and examine changing educational differences in @entity28 from 1971-1980 to 1999-2006 for @entity62 in two separate age groups (25-44 vs. 45-64 years). We find that (i) @entity28 differentials by education have remained largely stable, (ii) compared with college graduates, less educated whites and younger black @entity1 continue to be more likely to be @entity28 , (iii) but the differentials are larger for @entity1 than @entity1 , and weak or nonexistent among black @entity1 and older black @entity1 . There are exceptions to the overall trend. The @entity28 gap has widened between the two groups of college-educated younger @entity1 , but disappeared between the least and most educated younger white @entity1 . Thus, the increase in @entity28 was similar for most educational groups, but significantly greater for younger @entity1 with some college and smaller for younger white @entity1 without a high-school degree. Lumping together the two distinct college groups has biased previous estimates of educational differences in @entity28 .

Educational differences in XXXX in the United States: a closer look at the trends.

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['women', 'men'] @entity62 :: ('MESH:D056784', 'Disease') :: ['non-Hispanic whites and blacks'] @entity28 :: ('MESH:D009765', 'Disease') :: ['obese', 'obesity']
@entity28 :: (MESH:D009765,Disease) :: ['obesity']
