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Going the same 'weigh': spousal correlations in obesity in the United Kingdom

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  • Heather Brown
  • Arne Risa Hole
  • Jennifer Roberts

Abstract

The obesity epidemic has received widespread media and research attention. However, the social phenomenon of obesity is still not well understood. Data from the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) show positive and significant correlations in spousal body mass index ( BMI ). This article explores the three mechanisms of matching in the marriage market, social learning and shared environment to explain this correlation. We apply a novel method of testing for social learning by focusing on how the addition of individual and partner health and marriage length affects the correlation in spousal BMI . Results show the importance of matching in the marriage market in explaining correlated BMI outcomes. There is significant correlation in partner BMI even after controlling for own health, spouse health, marriage length and regional effects, suggesting evidence of a social influence. However, it does not appear to be a learning effect as the spouse health and marriage length are insignificant.

Suggested Citation

  • Heather Brown & Arne Risa Hole & Jennifer Roberts, 2014. "Going the same 'weigh': spousal correlations in obesity in the United Kingdom," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(2), pages 153-166, January.
  • Handle: RePEc:taf:applec:v:46:y:2014:i:2:p:153-166
    DOI: 10.1080/00036846.2013.837575
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    Cited by:

    1. Paul McNamee & Silvia Mendolia & Oleg Yerokhin, 2021. "The transmission of partner mental health to individual life satisfaction: Estimates from a longitudinal household survey," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 68(4), pages 494-516, September.
    2. Marta Pascual-Sáez & David Cantarero-Prieto & Carla Blázquez-Fernández, 2019. "Partner’s depression and quality of life among older Europeans," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 20(7), pages 1093-1101, September.
    3. Mendolia, Silvia & McNamee, Paul & Yerokhin, Oleg, 2018. "The Transmission of Mental Health within Households: Does One Partner's Mental Health Influence the Other Partner's Life Satisfaction?," IZA Discussion Papers 11431, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Heather Brown, 2016. "Birds of a Feather Flock Together: Correlation in BMI Categories in Long-Term Relationships," Australian Economic Review, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, vol. 49(4), pages 453-470, December.

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