Abstract
Using the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY79), we examine the relationship between Body Mass Index (BMI) and the remoteness of the county in which the individual lives. Remoteness in this study is identified by calculating the geographical position of the county with respect to metropolitan areas of different sizes (urban hierarchy) of the location. Since BMI affects where an individual chooses to live, there may be endogeneity bias. To address this concern, we identify patterns of mobility in which the choice of location is independent of BMI. In a framework that accounts for unobserved individual-level heterogeneity and sources of endogeneity bias, we show that after controlling for urban sprawl or location density, there is no systematic manner through which remoteness affects body weight.
Highlights
The lifestyle of an individual is influenced by different individual factors, including attitudes, beliefs, and knowledge, as well as environmental factors including the physical, social, political, economic, and media environment
While the distance variables do not have any significant effect on Body Mass Index (BMI) for women, incremental distance to the nearest metropolitan area with a population of 0.5 million remains significant for men, with a slightly larger coefficient compared to the full sample
The existing research has primarily focused on the link between BMI and urban sprawl, but we find that such a causal link is tenuous
Summary
The lifestyle of an individual is influenced by different individual factors, including attitudes, beliefs, and knowledge, as well as environmental factors including the physical, social, political, economic, and media environment. Distances from metropolitan areas of different tiers are likely determinants of the obesogenic environment of a location over and beyond the connection between body weight and urban density as some of these higher-tiered metros offer their residents amenities and make these amenities available indirectly to residents of nearby communities. Remoteness refers to the position of the county in the urban hierarchy as measured by incremental distances to the nearest metropolitan areas of populations 0.25 million, 0.5 million, and 1.5 million. We show that after controlling for urban sprawl or location density, there is no systematic manner through which remoteness affects body weight Note that this framework accounts for unobserved individual-level heterogeneity and sources of endogeneity bias.
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