Can Changing Economic Factors Explain the Rise in Obesity?

A growing literature examines the effects of economic variables on obesity, typically focusing on only one or a few factors at a time. We build a more comprehensive economic model of body weight, combining the 1990-2010 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System with 27 state-level variables related...

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Published in:Southern Economic Journal Vol. 82; no. 4; pp. 1266 - 1311
Main Authors: Courtemanche, Charles J., Pinkston, Joshua C., Ruhm, Christopher J., Wehby, George L.
Format: Article
Published: Wiley-Blackwell Apr2016
Subjects:
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
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        atl: Can Changing Economic Factors Explain the Rise in Obesity?
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          Courtemanche, Charles J.
          Pinkston, Joshua C.
          Ruhm, Christopher J.
          Wehby, George L.
        affil:
          Department of Economics, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University, P.O. Box 3992. Atlanta, GA 30302, USA and National Bureau of Economics Research
          Economics Department, College of Business, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40292, USA
          Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, University of Virginia, 204 Garrett Hall, 235 McCor-mick Road, P.O. Box 400893, Charlottesville, VA 22904, USA, National Bureau of Economic Research, and Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)
          Department of Health Management and Policy, College of Public Health, University of Iowa, 145 N. Riverside Dr., 100 College of Public Health Bldg., Room N248, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA and National Bureau of Economic Research
      su:
        Obesity
        Body weight
        Nutrition disorders
        Cigarettes
        Calorie
      sug:
        subj:
          Obesity
          Body weight
          Nutrition disorders
          Cigarettes
          All other miscellaneous store retailers (except beer and wine-making supplies stores)
          Tobacco Stores
          Tobacco and Tobacco Product Merchant Wholesalers
          Cigarette and tobacco product merchant wholesalers
          Tobacco product manufacturing
          Tobacco Manufacturing
          Calorie
      keyword:
        I12
        I12
      ab: A growing literature examines the effects of economic variables on obesity, typically focusing on only one or a few factors at a time. We build a more comprehensive economic model of body weight, combining the 1990-2010 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System with 27 state-level variables related to general economic conditions, labor supply, and the monetary or time costs of calorie intake, physical activity, and cigarette smoking. Controlling for demographic characteristics and state and year fixed effects, changes in these economic variables collectively explain 37% of the rise in body mass index (BMI), 43% of the rise in obesity, and 59% of the rise in Class II/III obesity. Quantile regressions also point to large effects among the heaviest individuals, with half the rise in the 90th percentile of BMI explained by economic factors. Variables related to calorie intake-particularly restaurant and supercenter/warehouse club densities-are the primary drivers of the results.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
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    language: English
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