Modern Body Mass Index Values, Marital Status, and Household Size: 1980s to the Present

27 Pages Posted: 23 Jul 2019

See all articles by Scott Alan Carson

Scott Alan Carson

University of Texas of the Permian Basin; CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute)

Date Written: 2019

Abstract

The body mass index (BMI) is the primary means of classifying obesity and reflects a complex set of interactions related to the institution of marriage and household characteristics. There is an inverse relationship between BMI and height, and height reflects the cumulative price of net nutrition during childhood and resources devoted to an off-spring's health from care-givers. There are gender specific relationships between BMI and marital status, and after controlling for height, single women have lower BMIs than women in other household relationships. While causal mechanisms may have changed over time, there is a positive relationship between BMIs and household size.

Keywords: family structure, obesity, marital status, net nutrition

JEL Classification: D130, I120, J120, J130

Suggested Citation

Carson, Scott Alan, Modern Body Mass Index Values, Marital Status, and Household Size: 1980s to the Present (2019). CESifo Working Paper No. 7638, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3422219 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3422219

Scott Alan Carson (Contact Author)

University of Texas of the Permian Basin ( email )

4901 East University
Odessa, TX 79762
United States

CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute)

Poschinger Str. 5
Munich, DE-81679
Germany

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