 Soda expansion in the tropics: The effect on obesity rates among women without piped water at homePatricia I. Ritter Economics & Human Biology, 2023, vol. 51, issue C Abstract: Obesity rates and soda consumption are increasing at a worrisome pace in developing countries. In particular, soda companies seem to be targeting areas with poor access to clean water. This paper exploits a natural experiment in Peru and finds evidence that changes in the price of soda generate important effects in terms of obesity among individuals without piped water at home. These significant effects are driven by a combination of a large effect in the consumption of soda and an effect close to zero in the consumption of potential substitutes high in calories. This paper also provides some evidence that a reduction in price of soda reduces diarrhea prevalence, suggesting that some individuals substitute away contaminated water. This evidence suggests that soda taxes might be particularly beneficial among this population in terms of the prevention of obesity and possibly related diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. The potential trade-off between obesity and diarrhea needs to be investigated in greater depth. Keywords: Obesity; Piped water; Soft drinks; Diarrhea; Clean water (search for similar items in EconPapers) Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ehbiol:v:51:y:2023:i:c:s1570677x23000552 DOI: 10.1016/j.ehb.2023.101274 Access Statistics for this article Economics & Human Biology is currently edited by J. Komlos, Inas R Kelly and Joerg Baten More articles in Economics & Human Biology from Elsevier |
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