Tasty
The Association between Socioeconomic Status and Adult Fast-Food Consumption in the U.S.
Jay Zagorsky & Patricia Smith
Economics & Human Biology, November 2017, Pages 12–25
Abstract:
Health follows a socioeconomic status (SES) gradient in developed countries with disease prevalence falling as SES rises. This pattern is partially attributed to differences in nutritional intake, with the poor eating the least healthy diets. This paper examines whether there is an SES gradient in one specific aspect of nutrition: fast-food consumption. Fast food is generally high in calories and low in nutrients. We use data from the 2008, 2010, and 2012 waves of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY79) to test whether adult fast-food consumption in the United States falls as monetary resources rise (n = 8,136). This research uses more recent data than previous fast-food studies and includes a comprehensive measure of wealth in addition to income to measure SES. We find little evidence of a gradient in adult fast-food consumption with respect to wealth. While adults in the highest quintile are 54.5% less likely to report fast-food consumption than those in the lowest quintile, adults in the second and third quintiles are no less likely to report fast food-food intake than the poorest. Contrary to popular belief, fast-food consumption rises as income rises from the lowest to middle quintiles. The variation in adult fast-food consumption across income and wealth groups is, however, small. Those in the wealthiest quintile ate about one less fast-food meal on average than those in the lowest quintile. Other factors play a bigger role in explaining fast-food consumption: reading ingredient labels is negatively associated while soda consumption and hours of work are positively associated with fast-food consumption.
Do Globalization & Free Markets Drive Obesity Among Children and Youth? An Empirical Analysis, 1990-2013
Indra de Soysa & Ann Kristin de Soysa
International Interactions, forthcoming
Abstract:
Scholars of public health identify globalization as a major cause of obesity. Free markets are blamed for spreading high calorie, nutrient-poor diets and sedentary lifestyles across the globe. Global trade and investment agreements apparently curtail government action in the interest of public health. Globalization is also blamed for raising income inequality and social insecurities, which contribute to ‘obesogenic’ environments. Contrary to recent empirical studies, this study demonstrates that globalization and several component parts, such as trade openness, FDI flows, and an index of economic freedom reduce weight gain and obesity among children and youth, the most likely age cohort to be affected by the past three decades of globalization and attendant lifestyle changes. The results suggest strongly that local-level factors possibly matter much more than do global-level factors for explaining why some people remain thin and others put on weight. The proposition that globalization is homogenizing cultures across the globe in terms of diets and lifestyles is possibly exaggerated. The results support the proposition that globalized countries prioritize health because of the importance of labor productivity and human capital due to heightened market competition, ceteris paribus, even if rising incomes might drive high consumption.
Incremental theories of weight and healthy eating behavior
Joyce Ehrlinger et al.
Journal of Applied Social Psychology, forthcoming
Abstract:
We examined whether a belief in weight as malleable (an incremental theory) leads to healthier eating than a belief that weight is fixed (an entity theory). Participants with incremental theories of weight consumed fewer calories from high-calorie foods in a lab-based taste-test than did those with more entity theories of weight. This pattern held correlationally, with naturally occurring theories of weight (Study 1), and when we experimentally manipulated participants’ theories of weight (Study 2). A third study provided evidence that differences in self-efficacy regarding food mediate the relationship between theories of weight and eating behavior (Study 3). One way to encourage healthy eating might be to develop interventions that encourage more incremental views of weight.
Parental Work Hours and Childhood Obesity: Evidence Using Instrumental Variables Related to Sibling School Eligibility
Charles Courtemanche, Rusty Tchernis & Xilin Zhou
NBER Working Paper, May 2017
Abstract:
This study exploits plausibly exogenous variation from the youngest sibling’s school eligibility to estimate the effects of parental work on the weight outcomes of older children in the household. Data come from the 1979 cohort of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth linked to the Child and Young Adult Supplement. We first show that mothers’ work hours increase gradually as the age of the youngest child rises, whereas mothers’ spouses’ work hours exhibit a discontinuous jump at kindergarten eligibility. Leveraging these insights, we develop an instrumental variables model that shows that parents’ work hours lead to larger increases in children’s BMI z-scores and probabilities of being overweight and obese than those identified in previous studies. We find no evidence that the impacts of maternal and paternal work are different. Subsample analyses find that the effects are concentrated among advantaged households, as measured by an index involving education, race, and mother’s marital status.
The more the heavier? Family size and childhood obesity in the U.S.
Ashlesha Datar
Social Science & Medicine, May 2017, Pages 143–151
Abstract:
Childhood obesity remains a top public health concern and understanding its drivers is important for combating this epidemic. Contemporaneous trends in declining family size and increasing childhood obesity in the U.S. suggest that family size may be a potential contributor, but limited evidence exists. Using data from a national sample of children in the U.S. this study examines whether family size, measured by the number of siblings a child has, is associated with child BMI and obesity, and the possible mechanisms at work. The potential endogeneity of family size is addressed by using several complementary approaches including sequentially introducing of a rich set of controls, subgroup analyses, and estimating school fixed-effects and child fixed-effects models. Results suggest that having more siblings is associated with significantly lower BMI and lower likelihood of obesity. Children with siblings have healthier diets and watch less television. Family mealtimes, less eating out, reduced maternal work, and increased adult supervision of children are potential mechanisms through which family size is protective of childhood obesity.
Neighborhood Socioeconomic Deprivation and Weight Change in a Large U.S. Cohort
Qian Xiao et al.
American Journal of Preventive Medicine, forthcoming
Methods: This analysis included 153,690 men and 105,179 women (aged 51–70 years). Baseline addresses were geocoded into geographic coordinates and linked to the 2000 U.S. Census at the Census tract level. Census variables were used to generate a socioeconomic deprivation index by principle component analysis. Excessive weight gain and loss were defined as gaining or losing >10% of baseline (1995–1996) body weight at follow-up (2004–2006). The analysis was performed in 2015.
Results: More severe neighborhood socioeconomic deprivation was associated with higher risks of both excessive weight gain and weight loss after adjusting for individual indicators of SES, disease conditions, and lifestyle factors (Quintile 5 vs Quintile 1: weight gain, OR=1.36, 95% CI=1.28, 1.45 for men and OR=1.20, 95% CI=1.13, 1.27 for women; weight loss, OR=1.09, 95%% CI=1.02, 1.17 for men and OR=1.23, 95% CI=1.14, 1.32 for women). The findings were fairly consistent across subpopulations with different demographics and lifestyle factors.
Conclusions: Neighborhood socioeconomic deprivation predicts higher risk of excessive weight gain and weight loss.
Does More Education Cause Lower BMI, or Do Lower-BMI Individuals Become More Educated? Evidence from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979
Rebecca Benson, Paul von Hippel & Jamie Lynch
Social Science & Medicine, forthcoming
Abstract:
More educated adults have lower average body mass index (BMI). This may be due to selection, if adolescents with lower BMI attain higher levels of education, or it may be due to causation, if higher educational attainment reduces BMI gain in adulthood. We test for selection and causation in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979, which has followed a representative US cohort from age 14–22 in 1979 through age 47–55 in 2012. Using ordinal logistic regression, we test the selection hypothesis that high-overweight and obese adolescents were less likely to earn high school diplomas and bachelor's degrees. Then, controlling for selection with individual fixed effects, we estimate the causal effect of degree completion on BMI and obesity status. Among 18-year-old women, but not among men, being overweight or obese predicts lower odds of attaining higher levels of education. Higher education at age 47–48 is associated with lower BMI, but 70–90% of the association is due to selection. Net of selection, a bachelor's degree predicts less than a 1 kg reduction in body weight, and a high school credential does not reduce BMI. At midlife, selection accounts for almost all of the education gradient in women's BMI.
Eat Green, Get Lean: Promoting Sustainability Reduces Consumption
Adam Farmer et al.
Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, forthcoming
Abstract:
The overconsumption of food contributes greatly to health problems affecting a large portion of society while also straining earth's natural resources. Attempts by policymakers to encourage sustainable practices relative to food often focus more on the role of producers and less on the role of consumers, even though a growing number of consumers are concerned about the sustainability of the products they consume. Yet, consumers often fail to perceive any immediate, personal benefits from consuming sustainably; instead they envision benefits only for future society as a whole. Three studies, which all capture actual behavior — the consumption of food and beverage — provide evidence that food promoted as sustainable can produce individual consumer benefits through reduced consumption. Study 1 shows the effect of sustainability lessening consumption. Study 2 demonstrates how sustainability semantically primes a prosocial focus, which is the mechanism involved in the reduction of consumption. Study 3 then shows that this effect is enhanced for those with higher levels of self-control.
Healthier Than Thou? “Practicing What You Preach” Backfires by Increasing Anticipated Devaluation
Lauren Howe & Benoît Monin
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, May 2017, Pages 718-735
Abstract:
Should experts always practice what they preach? When an expert displays exemplary behavior, individuals who fear negative devaluation sometimes anticipate that this expert will look down on them. As a result, displays of excellence can paradoxically turn off the very people they are trying to inspire. Five studies document this in the medical domain, showing that individuals who are overweight or obese and concerned about their weight avoid physicians who advertise their fitness, for fear that these doctors will judge them negatively. People (erroneously) believe that doctors have healthier habits than other individuals (Study 1), doctors advertise healthy habits (Study 2), and overweight individuals anticipate devaluation from, and thus avoid and feel less comfortable with, doctors who portray themselves as fitness-focused (Study 3). Studies 4 and 5 test strategies for physicians to emphasize their own fitness without turning off weight-sensitive patients. This work demonstrates that it is critical to take into account ego-defensive processes when attempting to lead by example.
Deficits in episodic memory are related to uncontrolled eating in a sample of healthy adults
A.A. Martin, T.L. Davidson & M.A. McCrory
Appetite, forthcoming
Abstract:
Despite a substantial amount of animal data linking deficits in memory inhibition to the development of overeating and obesity, few studies have investigated the relevance of memory inhibition to uncontrolled eating in humans. Further, although memory for recent eating has been implicated as an important contributor to satiety and energy intake, the possibility that variations in episodic memory relate to individual differences in food intake control has been largely neglected. To examine these relationships, we recruited ninety-three adult subjects to attend a single lab session where we assessed body composition, dietary intake, memory performance, and eating behaviors (Three Factor Eating Questionnaire). Episodic recall and memory inhibition were assessed using a well-established measure of memory interference (Retrieval Practice Paradigm). Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that memory inhibition was largely unrelated to participants' eating behaviors; however, episodic recall was reliably predicted by restrained vs. uncontrolled eating: recall was positively associated with strategic dieting (β = 2.45, p = 0.02), avoidance of fatty foods (β = 3.41, p = 0.004), and cognitive restraint (β = 1.55, p = 0.04). In contrast, recall was negatively associated with uncontrolled eating (β = −1.15, p = 0.03) and emotional eating (β = −2.46, p = 0.04). These findings suggest that episodic memory processing is related to uncontrolled eating in humans. The possibility that deficits in episodic memory may contribute to uncontrolled eating by disrupting memory for recent eating is discussed.
Does Your Body Know Who You Know? Multiple Roles of Network Members’ Socioeconomic Status for Body Weight Ratings
Lijun Song, Philip Pettis & Bhumika Piya
Sociological Perspectives, forthcoming
Abstract:
Combining the theory of social capital with work on three social factors, respectively, socioeconomic status (SES), gender, and lifestyle, this study examines four roles of accessed SES (network members’ SES) for body weight ratings: direct association, indirect association through lifestyle, mediating role in the relationship between SES and body weight ratings, and interaction with gender. Analyzing data from the 2004 U.S. General Social Survey, this study measures body weight ratings (visually evaluated by interviewers) and two indicators of accessed SES on the educational dimension (network members’ average education and proportion of network members with some college education or more). The results show evidence not for the direct role of accessed education but rather for its three other roles. More educated adults of both genders have access to more educated network members; those with more educated network members have a stronger athletic identity (a proximate indicator of lifestyle); and those with a more solid athletic identity have lower body weight ratings. Also, men with more educated network members have higher body weight ratings, but the opposite pattern applies to women. This study refines social capital theory and advances our understanding of network, socioeconomic, lifestyle, and gender disparities in body weight.