The Income Body Weight Gradients in the Developing Economy of China

Darjusch Tafreschi ()

No 1140, Economics Working Paper Series from University of St. Gallen, School of Economics and Political Science

Abstract: Though existing theories predict the income gradient of individual body weight to change sign from positive to negative in process of economic development, empirical evidence is scarce. This paper adds to the literature on that topic by investigating the case of China using data from the China Health and Nutrition survey. Using a one-dimensional measure to characterize the level of economic development of a region, regression analyses indicate that more income is related to larger future growth of individuals’ BMI in less developed areas whereas it lowers BMI growth in more developed areas. The switch is somewhat more pronounced for females. Finally, using concentration indices it is shown that overweight status is predominantly a problem of higher income ranks in less developed geographical areas and trickles down to lower income ranks throughout the course of economic development.

Keywords: BMI; Bodyweight; Income; Development; China; CHNS; Concentration Index (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I18 O12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 39 pages
Date: 2011-09
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hea and nep-tra
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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http://ux-tauri.unisg.ch/RePEc/usg/econwp/EWP-1140.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: The income body weight gradients in the developing economy of China (2015)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:usg:econwp:2011:40

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