The Decline in BMI among Japanese Women after WWII

Shiko Maruyama and S. Nakamura

Health, Econometrics and Data Group (HEDG) Working Papers from HEDG, c/o Department of Economics, University of York

Abstract: The age-specific body mass index (BMI) of adult Japanese women has steadily decreased over time, while that of Japanese men has increased. This study examines the long-term trend of age-specific BMI in Japan, by combining unique historical data sets and conducting nonparametric regression analysis. We find that the decline in female BMI is a cohort-specific phenomenon with women born in the 1930s having the highest BMI. However, the age-specific BMI of young girls has continuously increased throughout the 20th century. We conclude that the BMI decline can be traced back to females in their late teen years shortly after WWII.

Keywords: Body Mass Index; Underweight; Cohort analysis; Secular trend; , Japan; Locally Weighted Regression (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C14 I10 N35 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013-12
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:yor:hectdg:13/35

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