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Obesity Rates in OECD Countries: An International Perspective

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  • Loureiro, Maria L.
  • Nayga, Rodolfo M., Jr.

Abstract

Obesity is a growing concern. New World Health Organization (WHO) figures indicate that obesity is spreading around the world as a "global epidemic." According to the WHO, there are more people suffering overweight related problems than malnutrition. Globally there are more than 1 billion adults who are overweight and at least 300 million of them are clinically obese, while 800 million suffer malnutrition (WHO 2004). The body mass index (BMI) is a common and accepted measure to report obesity rates (see WHO 1997). BMI is measured as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared. Recommended BMI levels are generally between a numerical value of 20 and 25. An individual with a BMI between 25 and 30 is considered overweight, while an individual with a BMI above 30 is considered obese. Individuals with BMIs below 20 are considered thin.
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Suggested Citation

  • Loureiro, Maria L. & Nayga, Rodolfo M., Jr., 2005. "Obesity Rates in OECD Countries: An International Perspective," 2005 International Congress, August 23-27, 2005, Copenhagen, Denmark 24454, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:eaae05:24454
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.24454
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    Cited by:

    1. Rickertsen, Kyrre & Tegene, Abebayehu & Huffman, Sonya Kostova & Huffman, Wallace E., 2006. "The Economics of Obesity-Related Mortality Among High Income Countries," Working Papers 18211, Iowa State University, Department of Economics.
    2. Miller, J. Corey & Coble, Keith H., 2008. "An International Comparison of the Effects of Government Agricultural Support on Food Budget Shares," Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 40(2), pages 551-558, August.
    3. Chouinard Hayley H & Davis David E & LaFrance Jeffrey T & Perloff Jeffrey M, 2007. "Fat Taxes: Big Money for Small Change," Forum for Health Economics & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 10(2), pages 1-30, June.
    4. Pieroni, Luca & Salmasi, Luca, 2010. "Body weight and socio-economic determinants: quantile estimations from the British Household Panel Survey," ISER Working Paper Series 2010-41, Institute for Social and Economic Research.

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