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A Short Note on Economic Development and Socioeconomic Inequality in Female Body Weight

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  • Deuchert, Eva
  • Cabus, Sofie J.
  • Tafreschi, Darjusch

Abstract

The origin of the obesity epidemic in developing countries is still poorly understood. It has been prominently argued that economic development provides a natural interpretation of the growth in obesity. This paper tests the main aggregated predictions of the theoretical framework to analyze obesity: Average female body weight is associated with economic development. In relatively poor countries, obesity is a phenomenon of the socioeconomic elite. With economic development, obesity shifts towards individuals with lower socioeconomic status.

Suggested Citation

  • Deuchert, Eva & Cabus, Sofie J. & Tafreschi, Darjusch, 2012. "A Short Note on Economic Development and Socioeconomic Inequality in Female Body Weight," Economics Working Paper Series 1204, University of St. Gallen, School of Economics and Political Science.
    • Handle: RePEc:usg:econwp:2012:04
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    Cited by:

    1. Sun, Ruoyan, 2016. "Optimal weight based on energy imbalance and utility maximization," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 442(C), pages 429-435.
    2. Tafreschi, Darjusch, 2015. "The income body weight gradients in the developing economy of China," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 16(C), pages 115-134.
    3. Mazhar, Ummad & Rehman, Fahd, 2022. "Productivity, obesity, and human capital: Panel data evidence," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 44(C).
    4. Dawid Majcherek & Marzenna Anna Weresa & Christina Ciecierski, 2020. "Understanding Regional Risk Factors for Cancer: A Cluster Analysis of Lifestyle, Environment and Socio-Economic Status in Poland," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-15, October.
    5. Nathalie Mathieu-Bolh & Ronald Wendner, 2021. "Conspicuous leisure, time allocation, and obesity Kuznets curves," Graz Economics Papers 2021-09, University of Graz, Department of Economics.
    6. Mathieu-Bolh, Nathalie & Wendner, Ronald, 2020. "We are what we eat: Obesity, income, and social comparisons," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    7. Butzlaf, Iris & Minos, Dimitrios, 2016. "Understanding the Drivers of Overweight and Obesity in Developing Countries: The Case of South Africa," GlobalFood Discussion Papers 232025, Georg-August-Universitaet Goettingen, GlobalFood, Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development.
    8. Nie, P. & Ding, L. & Jones, A.M., 2020. "Inequality of opportunity in bodyweight among middle-aged and older Chinese: a distributional approach," Health, Econometrics and Data Group (HEDG) Working Papers 20/14, HEDG, c/o Department of Economics, University of York.
    9. Ren, Yanjun & Castro Campos, Bente & Loy, Jens-Peter & Brosig, Stephan, 2019. "Low-income and overweight in China: Evidence from a life-course utility model," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 18(8), pages 1753-1767.
    10. Nathalie Mathieu‐Bolh, 2022. "The elusive link between income and obesity," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(4), pages 935-968, September.

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    Keywords

    Obesity; socioeconomic inequality; economic development;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I1 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health

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