Abstract
This study investigates the impact of food price on obesity, by exploring the co-occurrence of obesity growth with relative food price reduction between 1976 and 2001. Analyses control for female labor participation and metropolitan outlet densities that might affect body weight. Both the first-difference and fixed effects approaches provide consistent evidence suggesting that relative food prices have substantial impacts on obesity and such impacts were more pronounced among the low-educated. These findings imply that relative food price reductions during the time period could plausibly explain about 18% of the increase in obesity among the U.S. adults in metropolitan areas.
Highlights
Body weight has risen dramatically in the United States since early 1970s and most of this increase occurred in the 1980s and 1990s [1,2,3,4]
The main purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of relative food prices on the sharp upward obesity trend since 1970s in U.S large metropolitan areas
We investigate the effects of relative food prices of food at home and food away from home, using pseudo-panel data constructed from independent cross-sections of the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) between 1976 and 2001
Summary
Body weight has risen dramatically in the United States since early 1970s and most of this increase occurred in the 1980s and 1990s [1,2,3,4]. The prevalence of obesity in the U.S was 16.9% in youth and 34.9% in adults in 2010–2011 [4]. The estimated annual cost of treating obesity in the U.S adult noninstitutionalized population was $168.4 billion, 16.5% of national spending on medical care [5]. Without any effective policy interventions, the medical costs associated with obesity would rise by $46–$88 billion annually by 2030 [6]. Half of these medical costs have been financed by Medicare or Medicaid creating a significant externality on other members of the society [7]. Even in private-group health insurance programs, the negative externality resulting from medical bills associated with diseases and treatments related to obesity may raise the insurance premiums for all members enrolled in the programs [8]
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