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Cross-Country Variation in Obesity Patterns among Older Americans and Europeans

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Author Info
Pierre-Carl Michaud
Arthur van Soest
Tatiana Andreyeva

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Abstract

While the fraction of obese people is not as large in Europe as in the United States, obesity is becoming an important issue in Europe as well. Using comparable data from the Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) and the Health and Retirement Study in the U.S. (HRS), this paper analyzes the correlates of obesity in the population ages 50 and above, focusing on measures of energy intake and expenditure as well as socio-economic status. The main results are as follows: 1) Obesity rates differ substantially on both sides of the Atlantic and across European countries, with most of the difference coming from the right tail of the weight distribution. 2) Part of the difference in obesity prevalence between the U.S. and Europe is explained by a higher fraction of food eaten away from home and notably lower time devoted to cooking in the U.S. 3) Sedentary lifestyle or a lack of vigorous and moderate physical activity may also explain a substantial share of the cross-country differences. 4) Differential SES patterns of energy intake and expenditure across countries cannot fully account for the observed cross-country variation in the SES gradient in obesity.

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Paper provided by RAND Corporation Publications Department in its series Working Papers with number 495.

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Length: 35 pages
Date of creation: May 2007
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Handle: RePEc:ran:wpaper:495

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Related research
Keywords: Body Mass Index; International Comparison; SHARE;

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Production

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Tatiana Andreyeva & Pierre-Carl Michaud & Arthur van Soest, 2005. "Obesity and Health in Europeans Ages 50 and Above," Working Papers 331, RAND Corporation Publications Department. [Downloadable!]
  2. Sara Bleich & David Cutler & Christopher Murray & Alyce Adams, 2007. "Why Is The Developed World Obese?," NBER Working Papers 12954, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. David M. Cutler & Edward L. Glaeser & Jesse M. Shapiro, 2003. "Why Have Americans Become More Obese?," Harvard Institute of Economic Research Working Papers 1994, Harvard - Institute of Economic Research. [Downloadable!]
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  4. John Cawley & Richard V. Burkhauser, 2006. "Beyond BMI: The Value of More Accurate Measures of Fatness and Obesity in Social Science Research," NBER Working Papers 12291, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  5. Agar Brugiavini & Tullio Jappelli & Guglielmo Weber, 2002. "The Survey on Health, Aging and Wealth," CSEF Working Papers 86, Centre for Studies in Economics and Finance (CSEF), University of Naples, Italy. [Downloadable!]
  6. Anna Sanz-de-Galdeano, 2005. "The Obesity Epidemic in Europe," IZA Discussion Papers 1814, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
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  7. Chou, Shin-Yi & Grossman, Michael & Saffer, Henry, 2004. "An economic analysis of adult obesity: results from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 23(3), pages 565-587, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Anna Sanz de Galdeano, 2007. "An Economic Analysis of Obesity in Europe: Health, Medical Care and Absenteeism Costs," Working Papers 2007-38, FEDEA. [Downloadable!]
  2. P.-C. Michaud & D. Goldman & D. Lakdawalla & Y. Zheng & A. Gailey, 2009. "Understanding the Economic Consequences of Shifting Trends in Population Health," Social and Economic Dimensions of an Aging Population Research Papers 255, McMaster University. [Downloadable!]
  3. Xiaoyan Li & Nicole Maestas, 2008. "Does the Rise in the Full Retirement Age Encourage Disability Benefits Applications? Evidence from the Health and Retirement Study," Working Papers wp198, University of Michigan, Michigan Retirement Research Center. [Downloadable!]
  4. Michael Lechner, 2008. "Long-run labour market effects of individual sports activities," University of St. Gallen Department of Economics working paper series 2008 2008-13, Department of Economics, University of St. Gallen. [Downloadable!]
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  5. Michaud, Pierre-Carl & Goldman, Dana P. & Lakdawalla, Darius N. & Zheng, Yuhui & Gailey, Adam H., 2009. "Understanding the Economic Consequences of Shifting Trends in Population Health," IZA Discussion Papers 4366, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
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