Abstract
BackgroundMacroeconomic conditions are widely known to influence health outcomes through direct behavioral change or indirect mental effects of individuals. However, they have not received much attention in relation to childhood obesity.MethodsUsing gender-specific predicted employment growth rates as an index for labor market conditions, we analyze how economic shocks affect children’s weight status in Arkansas. To understand the underlying mechanisms behind these results, we use data on individual time use to examine how economic shocks are related to activities related to children’s weight.ResultsImprovement in the female labor market is associated with an increase in body mass index (BMI) and the probability that a child is overweight or obese, while an improvement in the male labor market has no significant effects on children’s weight. This impact is particularly evident among female children, older children, and African-American children. We also find a negative effect of improvements in the female labor market on time spent on preparation for foods at home.ConclusionsThese results suggest that a decrease in time spent preparing home-cooked foods might be a plausible explanation for the pro-cyclical relationship between children’s weight and improvement in the labor market conditions. Thus, the policy implications of our paper should be aimed at mitigating the adverse effects of women’s labor participation.
Highlights
Obesity during childhood is highly correlated with adverse health and development outcomes [1,2,3,4,5,6]
Economic theory on division of labor in households [22] and data from the American Time Use Survey (ATUS) presented later in this paper suggests that males devote more of their time to the labor market, while females are more engaged with children
When looking at the effect of the female labor market in the second row, we find that a one percentage point increase in the predicted female employment growth rate is Current Population Survey (CPS) and 1990 Census Predicted employment growth ratec Predicted employment growth ratec
Summary
Obesity during childhood is highly correlated with adverse health and development outcomes [1,2,3,4,5,6]. Macroeconomic conditions are widely known to influence health outcomes. Parental stresses from job insecurity can, in turn, increase children’s stress level, which may lead to poor dietary behaviors. Because the opportunity costs of spending time with children may be lower during economic downturns, parents may spend more time caring for children in the home. Macroeconomic conditions are widely known to influence health outcomes through direct behavioral change or indirect mental effects of individuals. They have not received much attention in relation to childhood obesity
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