THE EFFECTS OF HEALTH BEHAVIORS ON SELECTED HEALTH INDICATORS: A PANEL DATA ANALYSIS ON OECD COUNTRIES

Abstract

This study was conducted with the aim of investigating the effecs of health behaviors on health indicators. In this context, data of 38 OECD countries between 2005-2018 were analyzed bye Panel ARDL cointegration analysis. Crude mortality rate, infant mortality rate, cancer mortality rate and low birth weight rate were used as health indicators, while calorie, protein, sugar and fat supply and alcohol consumption were used as independent variables. As a result of the analysis, it was found that calorie supply affected positively the cancer mortality and low birth weight rate and the crude mortality rate negatively; protein supply affects crude mortality rate positively and others negatively; sugar supply positively affects all 4 health indicators; fat supply affects cancer mortality and low birth weight rate negatively and infant mortality rate positively; alcohol consumption negatively affects crude mortality and infant mortality rates, and positively affects cancer mortality and low birth weight rates. As a result, it was concluded that the effects of health behaviors on health indicators, except for sugar supply, are mixed.