Three Essays on the Social Science of Obesity
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2014
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ndltd-OhioLink-oai-etd.ohiolink.edu-osu14058936842021-08-03T06:26:00Z Three Essays on the Social Science of Obesity Saksena, Michelle J. Agricultural Economics Economics Health Obesity Complexity Theory Dynamic Panel Estimation Pseudo-Panel Estimation Socio-Economic Status China United States Simulation This dissertation contains three articles pertaining to the social science of obesity. All three chapters address the inherent dynamics of the obesity problem, which is surprisingly under-represented in the current literature. The first chapter uses microsimulation to recreate the incidence of obesity in the United States. The calibrated model is then subjected to tax and access policies in order to envisage possible outcomes from such policy intervention. Results show that the effect of taxation and increased access for the poorest individuals had little effect on average weight outcomes. Since the poorest individuals were shown to be the most obese, the results from this simulation imply that the most effective policy will be ones which aim to shift individual preferences toward healthful foods. While taxes did have a slight abatement effect, perhaps the most efficacious use of tax revenue could be used to fund programs that promote healthy eating.The second chapter utilizes panel data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey to conduct a dynamic estimation of the occurrence of obesity in China. The results show that income has a positive effect on weight, while education was negatively associated with weight gain. Upon estimating food consumption behavior, there is evidence that shows that as individuals become richer they substitute away from carbohydrate rich foods toward proteins and fat. This behavior maybe attributable to differing perceptions of weight relative to Western societies. Countries like China, with a relatively recent history of food scarcity may perceive weight gain as a sign of health and prosperity. Therefore, consumption of calorie dense foods like meat and fat maybe thought of as health-seeking behavior.Finally, the third chapter is a dynamic estimation of obesity in the United States. Using pseudo-panel techniques, a dynamic model is constructed at the cohort-level using repeated cross-sectional data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). An inverse relationship between socioeconomic status and weight was only detected among women. Interestingly, the lagged BMI variables were positive and significant in most cases for women, but was generally not for men. This seems to indicate that men are resistant to a “weight legacy” and are much more able to change current weight despite previous weight status. When studying food consumption behavior, women are more prone to sugar consumption as a result of increased socioeconomic status and marriage. Considering that the preponderance of overweight and obesity is higher among women, it may indicate that dietary differences across genders particularly in sugar consumption may be a contributing factor to female obesity. 2014-10-15 English text The Ohio State University / OhioLINK http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1405893684 http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1405893684 unrestricted This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws. |
| collection |
NDLTD |
| language |
English |
| sources |
NDLTD |
| topic |
Agricultural Economics Economics Health Obesity Complexity Theory Dynamic Panel Estimation Pseudo-Panel Estimation Socio-Economic Status China United States Simulation |
| spellingShingle |
Agricultural Economics Economics Health Obesity Complexity Theory Dynamic Panel Estimation Pseudo-Panel Estimation Socio-Economic Status China United States Simulation Saksena, Michelle J. Three Essays on the Social Science of Obesity |
| author |
Saksena, Michelle J. |
| author_facet |
Saksena, Michelle J. |
| author_sort |
Saksena, Michelle J. |
| title |
Three Essays on the Social Science of Obesity |
| title_short |
Three Essays on the Social Science of Obesity |
| title_full |
Three Essays on the Social Science of Obesity |
| title_fullStr |
Three Essays on the Social Science of Obesity |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Three Essays on the Social Science of Obesity |
| title_sort |
three essays on the social science of obesity |
| publisher |
The Ohio State University / OhioLINK |
| publishDate |
2014 |
| url |
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1405893684 |
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AT saksenamichellej threeessaysonthesocialscienceofobesity |
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