Risk attitude, time preference and health behaviours in the Bangkok Metropolitan Area

Individual risk and time preferences are related with economic behaviours under uncertainty, as well as health-related risky behaviours. Using a novel dataset collected from 1,330 households in the Bangkok Metropolitan Area in 2015 and 2016, this study quantitatively examines the factors that are associated with overweight and physical health screening, focusing on individual risk and time preferences. In contrast to studies using data from Western countries, the risk attitude measure is positively associated with obesity and BMI, i.e. risk averse individuals are more likely to be obese and tend to have a higher BMI, suggesting that overweight may be considered a symbol of health and prosperity and a protection against future uncertainties in the Thai context. A statistically significant link between time preference and the BMI measures was not found. The regression results further show that, in line with the literature, risk averse individuals and individuals with a low time preference are less likely to forgo routine physical check-ups. More emphasis needs to be placed on understanding the decisions that underlie health-related risky behaviours in a particular cultural setting to be able to design effective interventions.