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Intergenerational Transmission of Healthy Eating Behaviour and the Role of Household Income

Author

Listed:
  • Goode, Alison

    (Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research)

  • Mavromaras, Kostas

    (University of Adelaide)

  • Smith, Murray

    (University of Aberdeen)

Abstract

This paper investigates the possibility of intergenerational transmission of unhealthy eating habits from parents to adult children. It uses the 2003 Scottish Health Survey and estimates the association between the present healthy eating behaviour of adult children and the past parental death from cardiovascular disease (CVD). It uses parental CVD death as an adverse health signal which may cause a healthy eating compensatory response in adult children. This response is due to increased chances and perception of genetic predisposition of adult children as well as an indicator for parental past unhealthy eating habits which may have been passed onto the adult children. Regression analysis suggests that paternal history has no impact on either sons or daughters, and maternal history influences negatively the eating behaviour of daughters only. Unhealthy eating intergenerational transmission appears to be more intense amongst lower household income individuals.

Suggested Citation

  • Goode, Alison & Mavromaras, Kostas & Smith, Murray, 2008. "Intergenerational Transmission of Healthy Eating Behaviour and the Role of Household Income," IZA Discussion Papers 3535, IZA Network @ LISER.
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp3535
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Lídia Farré & Francis Vella, 2013. "The Intergenerational Transmission of Gender Role Attitudes and its Implications for Female Labour Force Participation," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 80(318), pages 219-247, April.
    2. Ian Bateman & Alistair Munro, 2009. "Household Versus Individual Valuation: What’s the Difference?," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 43(1), pages 119-135, May.
    3. Maria L. Loureiro & Anna Sanz-de-Galdeano & Daniela Vuri, 2010. "Smoking Habits: Like Father, Like Son, Like Mother, Like Daughter?," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 72(6), pages 717-743, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Johnston, David W. & Schurer, Stefanie & Shields, Michael A., 2011. "Evidence on the Long Shadow of Poor Mental Health across Three Generations," IZA Discussion Papers 6014, IZA Network @ LISER.
    2. Costa-i-Font, Joan & Gil, Joan, 2013. "Intergenerational and socioeconomic gradients of childhood obesity," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 49487, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    3. Joan Costa-i-Font & Mireia Jofre-Bonet & Julian Le Grand, 2015. "Vertical Transmission of Overweight: Evidence from English Adoptees," CESifo Working Paper Series 5351, CESifo.
    4. Katja Coneus & C. Katharina Spieß, 2008. "The Intergenerational Transmission of Health in Early Childhood," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 126, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    5. Costa-Font, Joan & Gil, Joan, 2013. "Intergenerational and socioeconomic gradients of child obesity," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 29-37.
    6. Gregory Ponthiere, 2011. "Mortality, Family and Lifestyles," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 32(2), pages 175-190, June.
    7. Carsten Andersen, 2019. "Intergenerational Health Mobility: Evidence from Danish Registers," Economics Working Papers 2019-04, Department of Economics and Business Economics, Aarhus University.
    8. Eduardo Rodríguez Oreggia & Ana Bertha Pérez Lizaur, 2010. "Factores de dinámica social asociados al índice de masa corporal en adultos en México," Estudios Económicos, El Colegio de México, Centro de Estudios Económicos, vol. 25(2), pages 337-362.
    9. Chen, Gang & Olsen, Jan Abel & Lamu, Admassu N., 2024. "The influence of parents' and partner's education on own health behaviours," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 343(C).

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • D1 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior
    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination

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