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Obesity and diabetes, the built environment, and the ‘local’ food economy in the United States, 2007

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Listed author(s):
  • Salois, Matthew J.

Abstract

Obesity and diabetes are increasingly attributed to environmental factors, however, little attention has been paid to the influence of the ‘local’ food economy. This paper examines the association of measures relating to the built environment and ‘local’ agriculture with U.S. county-level prevalence of obesity and diabetes. Key indicators of the ‘local’ food economy include the density of farmers’ markets and the presence of farms with direct sales. This paper employs a robust regression estimator to account for non-normality of the data and to accommodate outliers. Overall, the built environment is associated with the prevalence of obesity and diabetes and a strong local’ food economy may play an important role in prevention. Results imply considerable scope for community-level interventions.

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File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1570677X11000426
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Article provided by Elsevier in its journal Economics & Human Biology.

Volume (Year): 10 (2012)
Issue (Month): 1 ()
Pages: 35-42

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Handle: RePEc:eee:ehbiol:v:10:y:2012:i:1:p:35-42
DOI: 10.1016/j.ehb.2011.04.001
Contact details of provider: Web page: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/622964

Keywords: Community-intervention; Diabetes; Food environment; Famers’ market; Leverage points; ‘Local’ food; Robust regression; Obesity; Outliers;

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  1. Debra Tropp, 2008. "The Growing Role of Local Food Markets: Discussion," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 90(5), pages 1310-1311.
  2. Costa-Font, Joan & Gil, Joan, 2005. "Obesity and the incidence of chronic diseases in Spain: A seemingly unrelated probit approach," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 3(2), pages 188-214, July.
  3. Andrew J. Plantinga & Stephanie Bernell, 2007. "The Association Between Urban Sprawl And Obesity: Is It A Two-Way Street?," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(5), pages 857-879.
  4. Poortinga, Wouter, 2006. "Perceptions of the environment, physical activity, and obesity," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 63(11), pages 2835-2846, December.
  5. Courtemanche, Charles & Carden, Art, 2011. "Supersizing supercenters? The impact of Walmart Supercenters on body mass index and obesity," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(2), pages 165-181, March.
  6. 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.
  7. Catherine Dehon & Marjorie Gassner & Vincenzo Verardi, 2009. "Beware of 'Good' Outliers and Overoptimistic Conclusions," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 71(3), pages 437-452, 06.
  8. Frank, Lawrence Douglas & Saelens, Brian E. & Powell, Ken E. & Chapman, James E., 2007. "Stepping towards causation: Do built environments or neighborhood and travel preferences explain physical activity, driving, and obesity?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 65(9), pages 1898-1914, November.
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Cited by:

  1. Do, D. Phuong & Watkins, Daphne C. & Hiermeyer, Martin & Finch, Brian K., 2013. "The relationship between height and neighborhood context across racial/ethnic groups: A multi-level analysis of the 1999–2004 U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 11(1), pages 30-41.
  2. Benedek, Zsófia & Fertő, Imre & Baráth, Lajos & Tóth, József, 2014. "Factors influencing the decision of small-scale farmers on marketing channel choice: a Hungarian case study," 2014 International Congress, August 26-29, 2014, Ljubljana, Slovenia 182747, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
  3. Bimbo, Francesco & Bonanno, Alessandro & Nardone, Gianluca & Viscecchia, Rosaria, 2015. "The Hidden Benefits of Short Food Supply Chains: Farmers’ Markets Density and Body Mass Index in Italy," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association (IFAMA), vol. 18(1).
  4. Thapaliya, Sudha & Interis, Matthew G. & Collart, Alba J. & Walters, Lurleen & Morgan, Kimberly L., 2014. "Health Motivation for Purchasing Local Foods in the Southeastern United States," 2015 Annual Meeting, January 31-February 3, 2015, Atlanta, Georgia 196803, Southern Agricultural Economics Association.
  5. Wen, Ming & Maloney, Thomas N., 2014. "Neighborhood socioeconomic status and BMI differences by immigrant and legal status: Evidence from Utah," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 12(C), pages 120-131.
  6. Minor, Travis, 2013. "An investigation into the effect of type I and type II diabetes duration on employment and wages," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 11(4), pages 534-544.
  7. Srinivasan, C.S., 2013. "Can adherence to dietary guidelines address excess caloric intake? An empirical assessment for the UK," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 11(4), pages 574-591.

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