Peer Effects on Childhood Obesity from a Physical Activity and Dietary Intervention Program

Yajuan Li, Marco Palma (), Samuel Towne, Judith Warren and Marcia Ory

No 229803, 2016 Annual Meeting, February 6-9, 2016, San Antonio, Texas from Southern Agricultural Economics Association

Abstract: Objectives : The purpose of this research is to estimate peer effects on third grade students’ BMI and to investigate the social and physiological explanations for such effects. Methods : The BMI of students participating in a childhood obesity intervention program is used to assess peer effects on students’ BMI within the framework of identification of endogenous social effects. Two-stage instrumental variable models are applied using the data before and after the intervention program, and further peer effects are compared by gender and two BMI categorization groups: improvement versus non-improvement. Results : Strong peer effects are found for the overall sample, and for females and males in general. However, when classifying students into improvement versus non-improvement groups, the peer effect is only found among females who are categorized in the improvement group and males in the non-improvement group. Males are more likely to be influenced by their interactions with peer friends towards the direction of unhealthy behavior; females, on the contrary, are more likely to be influenced by interaction with peer friends towards the direction of healthy behavior. Conclusions : Peer effects are found for students aged 8-11, with gender differences in the psychological and social behavioral motivations.

Keywords: Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety; Health Economics and Policy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 24
Date: 2016
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ure
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:saea16:229803

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.229803

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