Obesity and low-carb diets in the united states: A herd behavior model

We propose that consumer herding is a plausible explanation of the popularity of low-carb diets in the United States. This proposition was empirically tested using per capita consumption of both broilers and eggs as proxies of the popularity of low-carb diets. Results confirm that people do not always make (perfectly) rational choices, even when a good signal or correct information is available to them. Instead, they choose to do what everyone else is doing. In addition, we could not conclusively determine that an increase in media reports about low-carb diets led to further increase in the popularity of low-carb diets. [JEL: D12, D82, Q18]. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Agribusiness 23: 421-434, 2007.