Our choice of food has major impacts on the environment. At the same time, it is visible to all people with whom we spend our daily lives. This raises the question of whether people are adapting their diets to gain a green reputation, as has been observed for other environmentally relevant...

We examine the relationship between trait self-control and body weight. Data from a population representative household survey reveal that limited self-control is strongly associated with both objective and subjective measures of unhealthy body weight. Those with limited self-control are...

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries, including the U.S., adopted intervention policies aimed at averting the spread. However, these policies may have led to significant changes in public health behaviors. We use Google search queries to examine how state government actions are...

I study the economic value of obesity - a seemingly inconsequential but unhealthy status symbol in poor countries. Randomizing decision-makers in Kampala, Uganda to view weight-manipulated portraits, I make four findings. First, obesity is perceived as a reliable signal of wealth rather than...

This study investigates the determinants of smallholders' participation in rural off-farm activities, which includes rural non-farm own business and wage employment, and its effect on food shortage, relative deprivation and dietary diversity. To address these objectives, we use a three-wave...

This paper analyzes the relationship between higher education and body weight and smoking behavior among women in Turkey. We exploit the largely exogenous and substantial increase in the openings of universities throughout Turkey. Based on the spatial and temporal variability of university...

Most welfare measures, including food expenditure and diet quality, are based on household aggregates and assume an equal or equitable distribution of resources among members within the household. But it is unlikely that resources are distributed equally or equitably within most households. As...

An ideal food system is envisioned to provide healthy diets for people and be sustainable for the environment. Such a food system is required to deliver on these goals even as diets are increasingly and disproportionately comprised of high-fat and/or high-sugar foods vis-à-vis nutritious diets....

The paper discusses in brief India's food regulatory system in the context of modernized frameworks and examples of well-developed and mature regulatory systems from five selected developed countries (Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the United States, and the European Union). India's food...

The macroeconomic effect of the obesity epidemic on environmental degradation was examined for panel data from thirty-one European countries from 1991 to 2016. The quantile via moments model (QVM) was used to realize our empirical investigation. The empirical results indicate that the obesity...

Half of local governments in England use planning policy to promote a healthier environment. In 2015, Gateshead Council in the North-East of England was the first local authority to ban planning permission for any new fast-food outlet. We explore if this policy is associated with changes in...

Undoubtedly, the proportion of the obese population has increased significantly in recent decades. Using FOPL (front-of-pack labelling) with clear nutritional information could also be helpful in eliminating this problem. The main aim of this contribution is to analyse the effects of using...

This study investigates the short-term impacts of an aggregate socioeconomic shock on household food consumption and children's nutrition using the case of the COVID-19 pandemic in Mozambique. In response to the economic downturn, households are expected to adjust their food choices both in...

We examine whether low self-esteem increases the risk of obesity in a panel of Australian adults. To address the problem of endogeneity, we look at weight changes following exogenous shocks to self-esteem, such as the unexpected death of friends and family members. We find that negative shocks...

Maternal sugar consumption in utero may have a variety of effects on offspring. We exploit the abolishment of the rationing of sweet confectionery in the UK on April 24, 1949, and its subsequent reintroduction some months later, in an era of otherwise uninterrupted rationing of confectionery...

Maternal sugar consumption in utero may have a variety of effects on offspring. We exploit the abolishment of the rationing of sweet confectionery in the UK on April 24, 1949, and its subsequent reintroduction some months later, in an era of otherwise uninterrupted rationing of confectionery...

Dietary choices are one of the main causes of mortality and environmental degradation. Plant-based diets, in comparison to diets rich in animal products, are considered to be more sustainable because they use fewer natural resources and come with a lower environmental burden, resulting in lower...

The EU Green Deal aims to promote healthier diets that include more nutritious and natural foods instead of ultra-processed products. EU geographical indications (GIs) protecting traditional foods such as Roquefort cheese or Parma ham will be reinforced under the corresponding 'Farm to Fork...

Although a significant number of middle and low-income countries have expanded access to subsidized health insurance, it still is unclear whether these insurance expansions improve children's health, This paper exploits quasi-random variation from an insurance expansion targeted at poor...

We study the effect of health insurance expansion on nutrition-related children's health outcomes. We exploit quasi-random variation from an insurance expansion targeted at poor households in Peru. We find that access to insurance reduces childhood obesity and exerts positive and economically...