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Can social programs break the vicious cycle between poverty and obesity? Evidence from urban Mexico

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  • Levasseur, Pierre

Abstract

This article analyzes how social interventions offer a solution to counteract the spread of overweight among the poor. Focusing on the Mexican conditional cash transfers program, we assess the average effect of a long run enrollment on adult body mass index and waist-to-height ratio. An original triple difference approach, which distinguishes over time participants from nonparticipants and stayers from leavers, is implemented. We find that the expansion of this program (to urban areas) has a protective effect on adult bodyweight for staying participants, but not an absolute effect. Moreover, the global impact of the program to reduce obesity is halved due to a low rate of participation in Mexican cities. Furthermore, we find health-risky externalities related to the cash component of the program. Indeed, the amount of cash payments is positively correlated with abdominal fat concentration, especially among enrolled women and for short-run enrollments. To sum up, our results bring new insights to the complementary role of both program components (cash and conditionalities).

Suggested Citation

  • Levasseur, Pierre, 2019. "Can social programs break the vicious cycle between poverty and obesity? Evidence from urban Mexico," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 143-156.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:113:y:2019:i:c:p:143-156
    DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2018.09.003
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    Cited by:

    1. Pierre Levasseur, 2017. "Why conditional cash transfers programs fail to target the poor ? The case of urban Mexico," Post-Print hal-02273901, HAL.
    2. Levasseur, Pierre, 2021. "Why do conditional cash transfer programmes fail to target the poor? The case of urban areas in Mexico," Revista CEPAL, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), April.
    3. Clément, Matthieu & Levasseur, Pierre & Seetahul, Suneha & Piaser, Lucie, 2021. "Does inequality have a silver lining? Municipal income inequality and obesity in Mexico," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 272(C).
    4. Dominic Thomas, 2022. "Unhealthy food preferences: A psychological consequence of poverty?," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 56(2), pages 613-639, June.
    5. Daran, Bertille & Levasseur, Pierre, 2022. "Is overweight still a problem of rich in sub-Saharan Africa? Insights based on female-oriented demographic and health surveys," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 25(C).
    6. Prakash, Kushneel & Munyanyi, Musharavati Ephraim, 2021. "Energy poverty and obesity," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    7. Pierre Levasseur & François Mariotti & Isabelle Denis & Olga Davidenko, 2022. "The association between meat consumption and body mass index varies according to the socioeconomic status in a representative sample of French adults," Working Papers hal-03744721, HAL.
    8. Bertille Daran & Pierre Levasseur, 2022. "Is overweight still a problem of rich in sub-Saharan Africa? Insights based on female-oriented demographic and health surveys," Post-Print hal-03511042, HAL.
    9. Nagano, Hitoshi & Puppim de Oliveira, Jose A. & Barros, Allan Kardec & Costa Junior, Altair da Silva, 2020. "The ‘Heart Kuznets Curve’? Understanding the relations between economic development and cardiac conditions," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 132(C).

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