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Studying the Child Obesity Epidemic With Natural Experiments

Author

Listed:
  • Robert Sandy

    (Department of Economics, Indiana Unviersity-Purdue University Indianapolis)

  • Gilbert Liu
  • John Ottensmann
  • Rusty Tchernis
  • Jeffrey Wilson

Abstract

We utilize clinical records of well successive child visits by the same child at clinics in Indianapolis to estimate the effects on their weights of changes in environment near their home. Our sample is limited to children who resided at the same address before and after the environmental change and in this initial investigation, are in the age range 3 through 12. Our environmental factors are fast food restaurants, supermarkets, parks, trails, and violent crimes. We looked for responses to these factors changing within buffers of 0.1, 0.25, 0.5, and 1 mile. The strongest effects were at the closest distances. None of the factors measured within a mile circle had an effect. Fast food restaurants moving close to the child’s home raised their weight. Supermarkets moving near the home lowered their weights. Additional violent crimes raised weights directly and indirectly by attenuating the weight reducing effects of parks and trails. The parks and trails are crudely measured by area and distance within the buffers. We are in the process of creating precise annual measures of three types of recreational amenities from the interpretation of aerial photographs.

Suggested Citation

  • Robert Sandy & Gilbert Liu & John Ottensmann & Rusty Tchernis & Jeffrey Wilson, 2008. "Studying the Child Obesity Epidemic With Natural Experiments," Working Papers wp200801, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:iup:wpaper:wp200801
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    File URL: http://www.iupui.edu/~econ/workingpapers/wp200801.pdf
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    Cited by:

    1. is not listed on IDEAS
    2. FLEURBAEY, Marc & SCHOKKAERT, Erik, 2011. "Equity in health and health care," LIDAM Discussion Papers CORE 2011026, Université catholique de Louvain, Center for Operations Research and Econometrics (CORE).
    3. Maoyong Fan & Yanhong Jin, 2014. "Do Neighborhood Parks and Playgrounds Reduce Childhood Obesity?," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 96(1), pages 26-42.
    4. Mouhcine Guettabi & Abdul Munasib, 2014. "Urban Sprawl, Obesogenic Environment, And Child Weight," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(3), pages 378-401, June.
    5. Sandy, Robert & Tchernis, Rusty & Wilson, Jeffrey & Liu, Gilbert & Zhou, Xilin, 2013. "Effects of the built environment on childhood obesity: The case of urban recreational trails and crime," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 11(1), pages 18-29.
    6. Lisa Stolzenberg & Stewart J. D’Alessio & Jamie L. Flexon, 2019. "The Impact of Violent Crime on Obesity," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 8(12), pages 1-12, December.

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • I1 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health
    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior

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