Obesity problems are no longer limited to the USA as, in recent years, obesity rates in the EU countrieshave increased dramatically, leading to serious consequences in terms of direct health care costs and productivitylosses, and indicating the existence of a negative externality connected with...

Consumer inability to make healthy food choices and to maintain a balanced diet is one of the main determinants that can explain the growth of overweight and obesity. Many studies have focused on the different factors affecting food behaviour, but only few of these have considered the role of...

Chinese have been experiencing dramatic changes in their body weight in the last ten years. Food service sector is believed to have significant effect on the rise of obesity in China. This paper analyses Body Mass Index (BMI) and overweight issue of adults 18 years and above in urban China with...

This paper estimates the impacts of weight, measured by body mass index (BMI), on employment, wages, and missed work due to illness for Russian adults by gender using recent panel data (1994-2005) from the nationally representative Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey (RLMS). We employ...

One factor that may be important in explaining rising childhood obesity is food prices. This report explores the effect of food prices on children’s Body Mass Index (BMI) using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-99 (ECLS-K) and the Quarterly...

This study examines the relationship between the use of modern food retailers and health outcomes, using data from a survey of 1180 urban households in Indonesia. The dependent variables include adult and child body-mass index (BMI) and the share of individuals overweight and obese. After...

The ERS Eating and Health Module, a supplement to the American Time Use Survey (ATUS), included questions on height and weight so that respondents’ Body Mass Index (BMI—a measure of body fat based on height and weight) could be calculated and analyzed with ATUS time-use data in obesity...

Studies in the area of health economics and public health have shown that low socioeconomic status (SES) and poverty are related to lower levels of health. Attempts to explain these differences have often made reference to the observation that poor health behaviours cluster in low SES...

Neoclassical economic theory models individuals as making consistent choices over time and it assumes these choices are the outcome of rational utility maximization. Recent theoretical developments in the theory of consumer decision-making have drawn evidence from other disciplines such as,...

This paper explores socio-demographic, economic and behaviour factors influencing body mass index (BMI) amongst 20 to 64 year old adults in Canada. BMI scores in Canada have increased, with gains stemming from disproportionate increases in female BMI. Econometric results indicate higher BMI...