The Experts below are selected from a list of 324 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform

Markus Jokela - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • Neighbourhood effects in health behaviours: a test of Social Causation with repeat-measurement longitudinal data
    European journal of public health, 2015
    Co-Authors: Jaakko Airaksinen, Olli T. Raitakari, Liisa Keltikangas-järvinen, Christian Hakulinen, Laura Pulkki-råback, Terho Lehtimäki, Markus Jokela
    Abstract:

    Background: Neighbourhood characteristics have been associated with health behaviours of residents. We used longitudinal data to examine whether neighbourhood characteristics (level of urbanization and socioeconomic status) are related to within-individual variations in health behaviours (alcohol consumption, smoking, exercise and self-interest in health) as people live in different neighbourhoods over time.  Methods: Participants were from the Young Finns prospective cohort study ( N = 3145) with four repeated measurement times (1992, 2001, 2007 and 2011/2012). Neighbourhood socioeconomic status and level of urbanization were measured on the level of municipality and zip code area. Within-individual (i.e. fixed-effect) regression was used to examine whether these associations were observed within individuals who lived in different neighbourhood in different measurement times.  Results: People living in more urban zip code areas were more likely to smoke ( b = 0.06; CI = 0.03–0.09) and drink alcohol ( b = 0.11; CI = 0.08–0.14), and these associations were replicated in within-individual analysis—supporting Social Causation. Neighbourhood socioeconomic status and urbanization were associated with higher interest in maintaining personal health ( b = 0.05; CI = 0.03–0.08 and b = 0.05; CI = 0.02–0.07, respectively), and these associations were also similar in within-individual analysis. Physical exercise was not associated with neighbourhood characteristics.  Conclusions: These data lend partial support for the hypothesis that neighbourhood differences influence people’s health behaviours.

  • socioeconomic differences in cardiometabolic factors Social Causation or health related selection evidence from the whitehall ii cohort study 1991 2004
    American Journal of Epidemiology, 2011
    Co-Authors: Markus Jokela, Marko Elovainio, Jane E Ferrie, Archana Singhmanoux, Martin J Shipley, David G Batty, Jenny Head, Mark Hamer, Marianna Virtanen
    Abstract:

    In this study, the health-related selection hypothesis (that health predicts Social mobility) and the Social Causation hypothesis (that socioeconomic status influences health) were tested in relation to cardiometabolic factors. The authors screened 8,312 United Kingdom men and women 3 times over 10 years between 1991 and 2004 for waist circumference, body mass index, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, fasting glucose, fasting insulin, serum lipids, C-reactive protein, and interleukin-6; identified participants with the metabolic syndrome; and measured childhood health retrospectively. Health-related selection was examined in 2 ways: 1) childhood health problems as predictors of adult occupational position and 2) adult cardiometabolic factors as predictors of subsequent promotion at work. Social Causation was assessed using adult occupational position as a predictor of subsequent change in cardiometabolic factors. Hospitalization during childhood and lower birth weight were associated with lower occupational position (both P's ≤ 0.002). Cardiometabolic factors in adulthood did not consistently predict promotion. In contrast, lower adult occupational position predicted adverse changes in several cardiometabolic factors (waist circumference, body mass index, fasting glucose, and fasting insulin) and an increased risk of new-onset metabolic syndrome (all P's ≤ 0.008). These findings suggest that health-related selection operates at younger ages and that Social Causation contributes to socioeconomic differences in cardiometabolic health in midlife.

  • urban rural differences in body weight evidence for Social selection and Causation hypotheses in finland
    Social Science & Medicine, 2009
    Co-Authors: Markus Jokela, Mika Kivimäki, Marko Elovainio, Jorma Viikari, Olli T. Raitakari, Liisa Keltikangasjarvinen
    Abstract:

    Average body weight differences between urban and rural areas have been reported in many countries, but it is unknown whether these are due to effects of Social selection or Social Causation. We examined whether adolescent body mass index (BMI) predicted selective urban/rural migration over a 21-year period and whether urban/rural living over the same period predicted differences in BMI increase from adolescence to adulthood in Finland. The participants were from the prospective, population-based Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns study (n=1787) aged 12-18 years at baseline and 33-39 years at the final follow-up, with data collected at six follow-up phases. Supporting Social selection, heavier adolescents were less likely to migrate to urban areas as adults: in obese adolescents the likelihood of living in an urban area at 33-39 years age was one third of that in normal weight adolescents. Supporting Social Causation, rural residence over the study period predicted a greater increase in BMI from adolescence to adulthood than urban residence did. These associations were independent of parental socioeconomic status and BMI, and of participants' own educational level, occupational class, marital status, and parenthood status. Together the findings suggest that the higher body weight of people living in rural areas of Finland may be due to both Social selection and Social Causation mechanisms, i.e. heavier people tend to migrate to more rural areas where people tend to get heavier.

  • Urban/rural differences in body weight: Evidence for Social selection and Causation hypotheses in Finland
    Social science & medicine (1982), 2009
    Co-Authors: Markus Jokela, Mika Kivimäki, Marko Elovainio, Jorma Viikari, Olli T. Raitakari, Liisa Keltikangas-järvinen
    Abstract:

    Average body weight differences between urban and rural areas have been reported in many countries, but it is unknown whether these are due to effects of Social selection or Social Causation. We examined whether adolescent body mass index (BMI) predicted selective urban/rural migration over a 21-year period and whether urban/rural living over the same period predicted differences in BMI increase from adolescence to adulthood in Finland. The participants were from the prospective, population-based Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns study (n = 1787) aged 12-18 years at baseline and 33-39 years at the final follow-up, with data collected at six follow-up phases. Supporting Social selection, heavier adolescents were less likely to migrate to urban areas as adults: in obese adolescents the likelihood of living in an urban area at 33-39 years age was one third of that in normal weight adolescents. Supporting Social Causation, rural residence over the study period predicted a greater increase in BMI from adolescence to adulthood than urban residence did. These associations were independent of parental socioeconomic status and BMI, and of participants' own educational level, occupational class, marital status, and parenthood status. Together the findings suggest that the higher body weight of people living in rural areas of Finland may be due to both Social selection and Social Causation mechanisms, i.e. heavier people tend to migrate to more rural areas where people tend to get heavier.

Rasmus Hoffmann - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • Social Causation Versus Health Selection in the Life Course: Does Their Relative Importance Differ by Dimension of SES?
    Social Indicators Research, 2019
    Co-Authors: Rasmus Hoffmann, Hannes Kroger, Siegfried Geyer
    Abstract:

    A person’s socioeconomic status (SES) can affect health (Social Causation) and health can affect SES (health selection). The findings for each of these pathways may depend on how SES is measured. We study (1) whether Social Causation or health selection is more important for overall health inequalities, (2) whether this differs between stages of the life course, and (3) between measures of SES. Using retrospective survey data from 10 European countries (SHARELIFE, n = 18,734), and structural equation models in a cross-lagged panel design, we determine the relative explanatory power of Social Causation and health selection through childhood, adulthood, and old age. We use three ways to measure SES: First, as a latent variable capturing different aspects of SES, second as material wealth, and third as occupational skill level. Between childhood and adulthood, Social Causation and health selection are equally important. In the transition from adulthood to old age, Social Causation becomes more important than health selection, making it the dominant mechanism in old age. The three measures of SES produce similar results. Only material wealth shows a stronger effect on health (between childhood and adulthood); it is also more affected by health (between adulthood and old age) than the other measures.

  • Social Causation versus health selection in the life course does their relative importance differ by dimension of ses
    EconStor Open Access Articles, 2019
    Co-Authors: Rasmus Hoffmann, Hannes Kroger, Siegfried Geyer
    Abstract:

    A person's socioeconomic status (SES) can affect health (Social Causation) and health can affect SES (health selection). The findings for each of these pathways may depend on how SES is measured. We study (1) whether Social Causation or health selection is more important for overall health inequalities, (2) whether this differs between stages of the life course, and (3) between measures of SES. Using retrospective survey data from 10 European countries (SHARELIFE, n{\thinspace}={\thinspace}18,734), and structural equation models in a cross-lagged panel design, we determine the relative explanatory power of Social Causation and health selection through childhood, adulthood, and old age. We use three ways to measure SES: First, as a latent variable capturing different aspects of SES, second as material wealth, and third as occupational skill level. Between childhood and adulthood, Social Causation and health selection are equally important. In the transition from adulthood to old age, Social Causation becomes more important than health selection, making it the dominant mechanism in old age. The three measures of SES produce similar results. Only material wealth shows a stronger effect on health (between childhood and adulthood); it is also more affected by health (between adulthood and old age) than the other measures.

  • the reciprocal relationship between material factors and health in the life course evidence from share and elsa
    European Journal of Ageing, 2018
    Co-Authors: Rasmus Hoffmann, Hannes Kroger, Eduwin Pakpahan
    Abstract:

    The widely established health differences between people with greater economic resources and those with fewer resources can be attributed to both Social Causation (material factors affecting health) and health selection (health affecting material wealth). Each of these pathways may have different intensities at different ages, because the sensitivity of health to a lack of material wealth and the degree to which health can influence economic resources may change. We study the relative importance, in terms of explanatory power, of Social Causation and health selection, comparing the transitions from childhood to adulthood and from adulthood to old age. We use retrospective survey data from ten European countries from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARELIFE, n = 18,734) and the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA, n = 6117), and structural equations models in a cross-lagged panel design. Material wealth and health depend on their prior status, wealth more so than health. In the transition from childhood to adulthood, Social Causation and health selection are equally important: the standardized coefficients for men in SHARE are 0.07 and 0.06, respectively, i.e. one standard deviation increase in material wealth in childhood is associated with a 0.07 standard deviation increase in adult health. In the transition from adulthood to old age, Social Causation is more important than health selection (0.52 vs. 0.01), across gender and data sets. Both pathways contribute to the creation of health inequalities—however, their relative importance changes with age, which is important for understanding how health inequalities develop and how policies can address them.

  • pathways between socioeconomic status and health does health selection or Social Causation dominate in europe
    EconStor Open Access Articles, 2018
    Co-Authors: Rasmus Hoffmann, Hannes Kroger, Eduwin Pakpahan
    Abstract:

    Health differences which correspond to socioeconomic status (SES) can be attributed to three causal mechanisms: SES affects health (Social Causation), health affects SES (health selection), and common background factors influence both SES and health (indirect selection). Using retrospective survey data from 10 European countries (SHARELIFE, n = 20,227) and structural equation models in a cross-lagged panel design, we determine the relative importance in terms of explanatory power of Social Causation and health selection in the life course from childhood to old age. Both SES and health heavily depend on their prior status, albeit more for SES than health. During the transition from childhood to working ages, Social Causation and health selection are equally weak. Turning to the second phase (transition from working ages to old age) Causation increases while selection decreases which makes Causation the dominant mechanism in older age. While the contribution of common background factors remains difficult to assess, this study shows that both Social Causation and health selection are responsible for health inequalities; however, their relative importance changes with age. Life course modelling can complement causal analysis by revealing interactions between the processes of SES and health and their contribution to health inequality.

  • Health Inequalities and the Interplay of Socioeconomic Factors and Health in the Life Course
    The Palgrave Handbook of Biology and Society, 2018
    Co-Authors: Rasmus Hoffmann, Hannes Kroger, Eduwin Pakpahan
    Abstract:

    In this chapter, we present health as an intersection between biology and society, and between medical/biological science and sociology. We discuss the examples of health inequalities according to socioeconomic status (SES), race and gender, before considering in more detail from a life course perspective the causal direction between SES and health. Our empirical analysis investigates the explanatory power of Social Causation and health selection, using retrospective survey data from ten European countries (SHARELIFE), and structural equations models in a cross-lagged panel design. Between childhood and adulthood both mechanisms seem equally important, but in older ages, Social Causation is much more important than health selection. The contribution of both mechanisms to health inequality illustrates the co-evolution of Social and biological factors in the human life course.

Hannes Kroger - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • Social Causation Versus Health Selection in the Life Course: Does Their Relative Importance Differ by Dimension of SES?
    Social Indicators Research, 2019
    Co-Authors: Rasmus Hoffmann, Hannes Kroger, Siegfried Geyer
    Abstract:

    A person’s socioeconomic status (SES) can affect health (Social Causation) and health can affect SES (health selection). The findings for each of these pathways may depend on how SES is measured. We study (1) whether Social Causation or health selection is more important for overall health inequalities, (2) whether this differs between stages of the life course, and (3) between measures of SES. Using retrospective survey data from 10 European countries (SHARELIFE, n = 18,734), and structural equation models in a cross-lagged panel design, we determine the relative explanatory power of Social Causation and health selection through childhood, adulthood, and old age. We use three ways to measure SES: First, as a latent variable capturing different aspects of SES, second as material wealth, and third as occupational skill level. Between childhood and adulthood, Social Causation and health selection are equally important. In the transition from adulthood to old age, Social Causation becomes more important than health selection, making it the dominant mechanism in old age. The three measures of SES produce similar results. Only material wealth shows a stronger effect on health (between childhood and adulthood); it is also more affected by health (between adulthood and old age) than the other measures.

  • Social Causation versus health selection in the life course does their relative importance differ by dimension of ses
    EconStor Open Access Articles, 2019
    Co-Authors: Rasmus Hoffmann, Hannes Kroger, Siegfried Geyer
    Abstract:

    A person's socioeconomic status (SES) can affect health (Social Causation) and health can affect SES (health selection). The findings for each of these pathways may depend on how SES is measured. We study (1) whether Social Causation or health selection is more important for overall health inequalities, (2) whether this differs between stages of the life course, and (3) between measures of SES. Using retrospective survey data from 10 European countries (SHARELIFE, n{\thinspace}={\thinspace}18,734), and structural equation models in a cross-lagged panel design, we determine the relative explanatory power of Social Causation and health selection through childhood, adulthood, and old age. We use three ways to measure SES: First, as a latent variable capturing different aspects of SES, second as material wealth, and third as occupational skill level. Between childhood and adulthood, Social Causation and health selection are equally important. In the transition from adulthood to old age, Social Causation becomes more important than health selection, making it the dominant mechanism in old age. The three measures of SES produce similar results. Only material wealth shows a stronger effect on health (between childhood and adulthood); it is also more affected by health (between adulthood and old age) than the other measures.

  • the reciprocal relationship between material factors and health in the life course evidence from share and elsa
    European Journal of Ageing, 2018
    Co-Authors: Rasmus Hoffmann, Hannes Kroger, Eduwin Pakpahan
    Abstract:

    The widely established health differences between people with greater economic resources and those with fewer resources can be attributed to both Social Causation (material factors affecting health) and health selection (health affecting material wealth). Each of these pathways may have different intensities at different ages, because the sensitivity of health to a lack of material wealth and the degree to which health can influence economic resources may change. We study the relative importance, in terms of explanatory power, of Social Causation and health selection, comparing the transitions from childhood to adulthood and from adulthood to old age. We use retrospective survey data from ten European countries from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARELIFE, n = 18,734) and the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA, n = 6117), and structural equations models in a cross-lagged panel design. Material wealth and health depend on their prior status, wealth more so than health. In the transition from childhood to adulthood, Social Causation and health selection are equally important: the standardized coefficients for men in SHARE are 0.07 and 0.06, respectively, i.e. one standard deviation increase in material wealth in childhood is associated with a 0.07 standard deviation increase in adult health. In the transition from adulthood to old age, Social Causation is more important than health selection (0.52 vs. 0.01), across gender and data sets. Both pathways contribute to the creation of health inequalities—however, their relative importance changes with age, which is important for understanding how health inequalities develop and how policies can address them.

  • pathways between socioeconomic status and health does health selection or Social Causation dominate in europe
    EconStor Open Access Articles, 2018
    Co-Authors: Rasmus Hoffmann, Hannes Kroger, Eduwin Pakpahan
    Abstract:

    Health differences which correspond to socioeconomic status (SES) can be attributed to three causal mechanisms: SES affects health (Social Causation), health affects SES (health selection), and common background factors influence both SES and health (indirect selection). Using retrospective survey data from 10 European countries (SHARELIFE, n = 20,227) and structural equation models in a cross-lagged panel design, we determine the relative importance in terms of explanatory power of Social Causation and health selection in the life course from childhood to old age. Both SES and health heavily depend on their prior status, albeit more for SES than health. During the transition from childhood to working ages, Social Causation and health selection are equally weak. Turning to the second phase (transition from working ages to old age) Causation increases while selection decreases which makes Causation the dominant mechanism in older age. While the contribution of common background factors remains difficult to assess, this study shows that both Social Causation and health selection are responsible for health inequalities; however, their relative importance changes with age. Life course modelling can complement causal analysis by revealing interactions between the processes of SES and health and their contribution to health inequality.

  • Health Inequalities and the Interplay of Socioeconomic Factors and Health in the Life Course
    The Palgrave Handbook of Biology and Society, 2018
    Co-Authors: Rasmus Hoffmann, Hannes Kroger, Eduwin Pakpahan
    Abstract:

    In this chapter, we present health as an intersection between biology and society, and between medical/biological science and sociology. We discuss the examples of health inequalities according to socioeconomic status (SES), race and gender, before considering in more detail from a life course perspective the causal direction between SES and health. Our empirical analysis investigates the explanatory power of Social Causation and health selection, using retrospective survey data from ten European countries (SHARELIFE), and structural equations models in a cross-lagged panel design. Between childhood and adulthood both mechanisms seem equally important, but in older ages, Social Causation is much more important than health selection. The contribution of both mechanisms to health inequality illustrates the co-evolution of Social and biological factors in the human life course.

Marko Elovainio - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • socioeconomic differences in cardiometabolic factors Social Causation or health related selection evidence from the whitehall ii cohort study 1991 2004
    American Journal of Epidemiology, 2011
    Co-Authors: Markus Jokela, Marko Elovainio, Jane E Ferrie, Archana Singhmanoux, Martin J Shipley, David G Batty, Jenny Head, Mark Hamer, Marianna Virtanen
    Abstract:

    In this study, the health-related selection hypothesis (that health predicts Social mobility) and the Social Causation hypothesis (that socioeconomic status influences health) were tested in relation to cardiometabolic factors. The authors screened 8,312 United Kingdom men and women 3 times over 10 years between 1991 and 2004 for waist circumference, body mass index, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, fasting glucose, fasting insulin, serum lipids, C-reactive protein, and interleukin-6; identified participants with the metabolic syndrome; and measured childhood health retrospectively. Health-related selection was examined in 2 ways: 1) childhood health problems as predictors of adult occupational position and 2) adult cardiometabolic factors as predictors of subsequent promotion at work. Social Causation was assessed using adult occupational position as a predictor of subsequent change in cardiometabolic factors. Hospitalization during childhood and lower birth weight were associated with lower occupational position (both P's ≤ 0.002). Cardiometabolic factors in adulthood did not consistently predict promotion. In contrast, lower adult occupational position predicted adverse changes in several cardiometabolic factors (waist circumference, body mass index, fasting glucose, and fasting insulin) and an increased risk of new-onset metabolic syndrome (all P's ≤ 0.008). These findings suggest that health-related selection operates at younger ages and that Social Causation contributes to socioeconomic differences in cardiometabolic health in midlife.

  • urban rural differences in body weight evidence for Social selection and Causation hypotheses in finland
    Social Science & Medicine, 2009
    Co-Authors: Markus Jokela, Mika Kivimäki, Marko Elovainio, Jorma Viikari, Olli T. Raitakari, Liisa Keltikangasjarvinen
    Abstract:

    Average body weight differences between urban and rural areas have been reported in many countries, but it is unknown whether these are due to effects of Social selection or Social Causation. We examined whether adolescent body mass index (BMI) predicted selective urban/rural migration over a 21-year period and whether urban/rural living over the same period predicted differences in BMI increase from adolescence to adulthood in Finland. The participants were from the prospective, population-based Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns study (n=1787) aged 12-18 years at baseline and 33-39 years at the final follow-up, with data collected at six follow-up phases. Supporting Social selection, heavier adolescents were less likely to migrate to urban areas as adults: in obese adolescents the likelihood of living in an urban area at 33-39 years age was one third of that in normal weight adolescents. Supporting Social Causation, rural residence over the study period predicted a greater increase in BMI from adolescence to adulthood than urban residence did. These associations were independent of parental socioeconomic status and BMI, and of participants' own educational level, occupational class, marital status, and parenthood status. Together the findings suggest that the higher body weight of people living in rural areas of Finland may be due to both Social selection and Social Causation mechanisms, i.e. heavier people tend to migrate to more rural areas where people tend to get heavier.

  • Urban/rural differences in body weight: Evidence for Social selection and Causation hypotheses in Finland
    Social science & medicine (1982), 2009
    Co-Authors: Markus Jokela, Mika Kivimäki, Marko Elovainio, Jorma Viikari, Olli T. Raitakari, Liisa Keltikangas-järvinen
    Abstract:

    Average body weight differences between urban and rural areas have been reported in many countries, but it is unknown whether these are due to effects of Social selection or Social Causation. We examined whether adolescent body mass index (BMI) predicted selective urban/rural migration over a 21-year period and whether urban/rural living over the same period predicted differences in BMI increase from adolescence to adulthood in Finland. The participants were from the prospective, population-based Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns study (n = 1787) aged 12-18 years at baseline and 33-39 years at the final follow-up, with data collected at six follow-up phases. Supporting Social selection, heavier adolescents were less likely to migrate to urban areas as adults: in obese adolescents the likelihood of living in an urban area at 33-39 years age was one third of that in normal weight adolescents. Supporting Social Causation, rural residence over the study period predicted a greater increase in BMI from adolescence to adulthood than urban residence did. These associations were independent of parental socioeconomic status and BMI, and of participants' own educational level, occupational class, marital status, and parenthood status. Together the findings suggest that the higher body weight of people living in rural areas of Finland may be due to both Social selection and Social Causation mechanisms, i.e. heavier people tend to migrate to more rural areas where people tend to get heavier.

Liisa Keltikangas-järvinen - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • Neighbourhood effects in health behaviours: a test of Social Causation with repeat-measurement longitudinal data
    European journal of public health, 2015
    Co-Authors: Jaakko Airaksinen, Olli T. Raitakari, Liisa Keltikangas-järvinen, Christian Hakulinen, Laura Pulkki-råback, Terho Lehtimäki, Markus Jokela
    Abstract:

    Background: Neighbourhood characteristics have been associated with health behaviours of residents. We used longitudinal data to examine whether neighbourhood characteristics (level of urbanization and socioeconomic status) are related to within-individual variations in health behaviours (alcohol consumption, smoking, exercise and self-interest in health) as people live in different neighbourhoods over time.  Methods: Participants were from the Young Finns prospective cohort study ( N = 3145) with four repeated measurement times (1992, 2001, 2007 and 2011/2012). Neighbourhood socioeconomic status and level of urbanization were measured on the level of municipality and zip code area. Within-individual (i.e. fixed-effect) regression was used to examine whether these associations were observed within individuals who lived in different neighbourhood in different measurement times.  Results: People living in more urban zip code areas were more likely to smoke ( b = 0.06; CI = 0.03–0.09) and drink alcohol ( b = 0.11; CI = 0.08–0.14), and these associations were replicated in within-individual analysis—supporting Social Causation. Neighbourhood socioeconomic status and urbanization were associated with higher interest in maintaining personal health ( b = 0.05; CI = 0.03–0.08 and b = 0.05; CI = 0.02–0.07, respectively), and these associations were also similar in within-individual analysis. Physical exercise was not associated with neighbourhood characteristics.  Conclusions: These data lend partial support for the hypothesis that neighbourhood differences influence people’s health behaviours.

  • Urban/rural differences in body weight: Evidence for Social selection and Causation hypotheses in Finland
    Social science & medicine (1982), 2009
    Co-Authors: Markus Jokela, Mika Kivimäki, Marko Elovainio, Jorma Viikari, Olli T. Raitakari, Liisa Keltikangas-järvinen
    Abstract:

    Average body weight differences between urban and rural areas have been reported in many countries, but it is unknown whether these are due to effects of Social selection or Social Causation. We examined whether adolescent body mass index (BMI) predicted selective urban/rural migration over a 21-year period and whether urban/rural living over the same period predicted differences in BMI increase from adolescence to adulthood in Finland. The participants were from the prospective, population-based Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns study (n = 1787) aged 12-18 years at baseline and 33-39 years at the final follow-up, with data collected at six follow-up phases. Supporting Social selection, heavier adolescents were less likely to migrate to urban areas as adults: in obese adolescents the likelihood of living in an urban area at 33-39 years age was one third of that in normal weight adolescents. Supporting Social Causation, rural residence over the study period predicted a greater increase in BMI from adolescence to adulthood than urban residence did. These associations were independent of parental socioeconomic status and BMI, and of participants' own educational level, occupational class, marital status, and parenthood status. Together the findings suggest that the higher body weight of people living in rural areas of Finland may be due to both Social selection and Social Causation mechanisms, i.e. heavier people tend to migrate to more rural areas where people tend to get heavier.