A SHORT NOTE ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND SOCIOECONOMIC INEQUALITY IN FEMALE BODY WEIGHT

Eva Deuchert*, Sofie Cabus, Darjusch Tafreschi

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

The origin of the obesity epidemic in developing countries is still poorly understood. It has been prominently argued that economic development provides a natural interpretation of the growth in obesity. This paper tests the main aggregated predictions of the theoretical framework to analyze obesity. Average body weight and health inequality should be associated with economic development. Both hypotheses are confirmed: we find higher average female body weight in economically more advanced countries. In relatively non-developed countries, obesity is a phenomenon of the socioeconomic elite.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)861-869
JournalHealth Economics
Volume23
Issue number7
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jul 2014

Keywords

  • obesity
  • socioeconomic inequality
  • economic development

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