Body mass index as a standard of living measure: a different interpretation for the case of Colombia

Luis Gamboa and Nohora Forero Ramírez ()

No 5218, Documentos de Trabajo from Universidad del Rosario

Abstract: We analyze the Body Mass Index (BMI) in a distinct way of its traditional use and it lets us use it as a proxy of standard of living for the case of Colombia. Our approach is focused on studying how far the people are from the normal range and not on the score of each one and this lets us to treat equally extreme cases as severe thinness and obesity. We use a probabilistic model (Ordered Probit) that evaluates the probability of being within the normal range or another level. We found that socioeconomic variables have a significant effect on the dependent variable and that there are no linear effects. Besides, people with difficulties for walking and adults have less probability of having a normal BMI.

Keywords: Standard of Living; Body Mass Index; Overweight (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C35 D63 I19 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 26
Date: 2009-01-08
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dcm and nep-hea
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:col:000092:005218

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