Migration and Food Consumption: The Impact of Culture and Country of Origin on Obesity as an Indicator of Human Health

Yuval Arbel, Chaim Fialkoff and Amichai Kerner
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Yuval Arbel: Sir Harry Solomon School of Economics and Management, Western Galilee College, Acre 2412101, Israel
Chaim Fialkoff: Institute of Urban and Regional Studies, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Mt. Scopus, Jerusalem 9190501, Israel
Amichai Kerner: School of Real Estate, Netanya Academic College, 1 University Street, Netanya 4223587, Israel

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 18, 1-22

Abstract: Previous research demonstrates that the 1965 American immigration wave has tended to attenuate the obesity pandemic in the United States. Based on a survey carried out by the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics (ICBS) in 2012 and 2016, we observe the correlation between BMI, age, native language, and years-since-migration to Israel. BMI (= k g m 2 ) is a conventional measure of obesity, where BMI ≥ 25 is considered overweight and BMI ≥ 30 as type I obesity. The results indicate that compared to 11 groups of immigrants, the median BMI among native Israelis is lower. While the prevalence of overweight (BMI ≥ 25) among Hebrew speakers is below 50%, in 11 groups of immigrants, the prevalence of overweight is above 50%. A noteworthy exception is the immigrants from Ethiopia, who exhibit lower overweight prevalence compared to native Israelis and all other population groups. Finally, while male Hebrew and Russian speakers cross the overweight benchmark at the same age (35 years), native Israeli women (Hebrew speakers) cross this benchmark only when they reach 50 years (15 years after the males) and Russian women cross this benchmark only five years after the Russian men. These research findings may be of assistance in public health and culture-oriented medicine.

Keywords: body mass index; obesity; nutrition (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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