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A mass phenomenon: The social evolution of obesity

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  • Strulik, Holger

Abstract

This paper proposes a theory for the social evolution of obesity. It considers a society in which individuals experience utility from consumption of food and non-food, the state of their health, and the evaluation of their appearance by others. The theory explains under which conditions poor persons are more prone to be overweight although eating is expensive and it shows how obesity occurs as a social phenomenon such that body mass continues to rise long after the initial cause (e.g. a lower price of food) is gone. The paper investigates the determinants of a steady state at which the median person is overweight and how an originally lean society arrives at such a steady state. Extensions of the theory towards dietary choice and the possibility to exercise in order to lose weight demonstrate robustness of the basic mechanism and provide further interesting results.

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  • Strulik, Holger, 2014. "A mass phenomenon: The social evolution of obesity," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 113-125.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jhecon:v:33:y:2014:i:c:p:113-125
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jhealeco.2013.10.007
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    6. 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.
    7. Davide Dragone & Francesco Manaresi & Luca Savorelli, 2016. "Obesity and Smoking: can we Kill Two Birds with one Tax?," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 25(11), pages 1464-1482, November.
    8. Strulik, Holger, 2018. "The return to education in terms of wealth and health," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 12(C), pages 1-14.
    9. Paolo Nicola Barbieri, 2022. "Social distortion in weight perception: a decomposition of the obesity epidemic," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 39(2), pages 685-713, July.
    10. Caliendo, Marco & Gehrsitz, Markus, 2016. "Obesity and the labor market: A fresh look at the weight penalty," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 23(C), pages 209-225.
    11. Dragone, Davide & Ziebarth, Nicolas R., 2015. "Economic Development, Novelty Consumption, and Body Weight: Evidence from the East German Transition to Capitalism," IZA Discussion Papers 8967, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    12. Sophie Byth & Paul Frijters & Tony Beatton, 2022. "The relationship between obesity and self-esteem: longitudinal evidence from Australian adults," Oxford Open Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 1, pages 1-14.
    13. Nathalie Mathieu-Bolh, 2021. "Economic Stress and Body Weight During the COVID-19 Pandemic," Studies in Microeconomics, , vol. 9(2), pages 256-282, December.
    14. Dragone, Davide & Ziebarth, Nicolas R., 2017. "Non-separable time preferences, novelty consumption and body weight: Theory and evidence from the East German transition to capitalism," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 41-65.
    15. Nathalie Mathieu‐Bolh, 2022. "The elusive link between income and obesity," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(4), pages 935-968, September.
    16. 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.
    17. DUGULEANA Andreea Raluca & CROITORU Daniel Mihai, 2021. "Obesity: A New Paradigm Of Sustainable Consumption?," Revista Economica, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Faculty of Economic Sciences, vol. 73(Special), pages 154-172, December.
    18. Mathieu-Bolh, Nathalie & Wendner, Ronald, 2020. "We are what we eat: Obesity, income, and social comparisons," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Obesity epidemic; Social dynamics; Income gradient; Feeling fat; Feeling unhealthy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D11 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Theory
    • I14 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Inequality
    • Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification

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