Obesity and Suicide Behavior in Young Latina Adults of Mexican Heritage: The Mediating Influences of Sleep Problems, Health Problems, and Dissatisfaction with Personal Appearance

Although research findings have indicated that obesity is associated with suicide behavior, especially in females, scant research has examined mediators in this relationship. Moreover, although suicides have increased in young Latina adults in the United States, no published studies have examined obesity and suicide risk in young Latina adults. The present study thus examined the relationship of obesity to suicide behavior in young Latina adults and assessed sleep problems, health problems, and dissatisfaction with personal appearance as possible mediators. Participants were 401 female students of Mexican heritage from South Texas who completed the National College Health Assessment II, from which data on suicide behavior, depression, sleep and health problems, personal appearance satisfaction, and body mass index were obtained. Obesity was significantly associated with sleep problems, health problems, dissatisfaction with personal appearance, depression, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts. Parallel multiple mediation analyses and Sobel tests indicate that obesity had significant indirect effects on suicidal ideation through sleep problems, health problems, and personal appearance dissatisfaction. The present findings strongly suggest that sleep problems, health problems, and personal appearance dissatisfaction mediate the relationship between obesity and suicide behavior and thus help explain how obesity and suicide behavior are connected. Finally, the present study identifies suicide risk factors pertinent to young Latina adults while also identifying possible pathways for the prevention and treatment of suicide.