Lesbian, gay, bisexual and queer (LGBQ) youth are more likely to lead sedentary lifestyles, a new study states. The study also adds that these lifestyles that the LGBQ youth lead could cause sedentary lifestyle disorders such as diabetes and obesity. The study is among the first of its kind to examine how health behaviours linked to minority stress - the day-to-day stress faced by stigmatised and marginalised populations - may contribute to the risk of poor physical health among LGBQ youth.
“Lesbian, gay, bisexual and questioning youth may not only be at risk for worse mental health but also worse physical health outcomes compared to heterosexual youth,” said Lauren Beach, a postdoctoral research fellow at Northwestern University in the US. Published in the journal, Paediatric Diabetes, the research studies sedentary behaviour and obesity by sex and sexual orientation among high-school-aged students.
On average, sexual minority and questioning students were less likely to engage in physical activity than heterosexual students, the study found. It also reported about one less day per week of physical activity and were 38 to 53% less likely to meet physical activity guidelines than heterosexual students. Lesbian, bisexual and queer female students were 1.55 to 2.07 times more likely to be obese than heterosexual female students. And this could be because this minority population were subjected to added stress as compared to heterosexual students.
“Many of these youth might be taking part in sedentary activities - like playing video games - to escape the daily stress tied to being lesbian, gay, bisexual or questioning,” Beach said. “Our findings show that minority stress actually has a very broad-ranging and physical impact,” she said. The findings should not be viewed as a ‘doomsday’ for this population, Beach added.
