IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/rri/wpaper/2006wp12.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The Influence of Socioeconomic and Environmental Factors on Health and Obesity in Rural Appalachia

Author

Listed:
  • Anura Amarasinghe

    (Division of Resource Management, West Virginia University)

  • Gerard D'Souza

    (Division of Resource Management, West Virginia University)

  • Cheryl Brown

    (Division of Resource Management, West Virginia University)

  • Hyungna Oh

Abstract

A recursive system of ordered self assessed health (SAH) and a binary indicator of obesity were used to investigate the impact of socioeconomic and environmental factors on health and obesity in the predominantly rural Appalachian state of West Virginia. Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data together with county specific socioeconomic and built environment indicators were used in estimation. Results indicate that an individual’s risk of being obese increases at a decreasing rate with per capita income and age. Marginal impacts show that as the level of education attainment increases, the probability of being obese decreases by 3%. Physical inactivity increases the risk of being obese by 9%, while smoking reduces the risk of being obese by 14%. Fruit and vegetable consumption lowers the probability of being obese by 2%, while each hour increase in commuting time raises the probability of being obese by 2.4%. In addition, individuals living in economically distressed counties are less likely to have good health. Intervention measures which stimulate human capital development and better land use planning are essential policy elements to improving health and reducing the incidence of obesity in rural Appalachia.

Suggested Citation

  • Anura Amarasinghe & Gerard D'Souza & Cheryl Brown & Hyungna Oh, 2006. "The Influence of Socioeconomic and Environmental Factors on Health and Obesity in Rural Appalachia," Working Papers Working Paper 2006-12, Regional Research Institute, West Virginia University.
    • Handle: RePEc:rri:wpaper:2006wp12
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/rri_pubs/99/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Cutler, David M & Richardson, Elizabeth, 1998. "The Value of Health: 1970-1990," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 88(2), pages 97-100, May.
    2. Donald S. Kenkel, 1995. "Should you eat breakfast? Estimates from health production functions," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 4(1), pages 15-29, January.
    3. Unknown, 2004. "Table of Contents," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 7(4), pages 1-1.
    4. Unknown, 2004. "Table of Contents," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 7(2), pages 1-1.
    5. Sickles, Robin C & Yazbeck, Abdo, 1998. "On the Dynamics of Demand for Leisure and the Production of Health," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, American Statistical Association, vol. 16(2), pages 187-197, April.
    6. Contoyannis, Paul & Jones, Andrew M., 2004. "Socio-economic status, health and lifestyle," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 23(5), pages 965-995, September.
    7. Chou, Shin-Yi & Grossman, Michael & Saffer, Henry, 2004. "An economic analysis of adult obesity: results from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 23(3), pages 565-587, May.
    8. Mancino, Lisa & Lin, Biing-Hwan & Ballenger, Nicole, 2003. "The Role Of Economics In Eating Choices And Weight Outcomes," Agricultural Information Bulletins 33781, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    9. Christopher J. Ruhm, 2000. "Are Recessions Good for Your Health?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 115(2), pages 617-650.
    10. Mark C. Berger & J. Paul Leigh, 1989. "Schooling, Self-Selection, and Health," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 24(3), pages 433-455.
    11. Lopez, R., 2004. "Urban sprawl and risk for being overweight or obese," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 94(9), pages 1574-1579.
    12. Tomas Philipson, 2001. "The world‐wide growth in obesity: an economic research agenda," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 10(1), pages 1-7, January.
    13. Lee, Lung-Fei, 1982. "Health and Wage: A Simultaneous Equation Model with Multiple Discrete Indicators," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 23(1), pages 199-221, February.
    14. Unknown, 2004. "Table of Contents," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 7(3), pages 1-1.
    15. Kelvin J. Lancaster, 1966. "A New Approach to Consumer Theory," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 74(2), pages 132-132.
    16. Kan, Kamhon & Tsai, Wei-Der, 2004. "Obesity and risk knowledge," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 23(5), pages 907-934, September.
    17. Unknown, 2004. "Table of Contents," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 7(01), pages 1-1.
    18. Heckman, James J, 1978. "Dummy Endogenous Variables in a Simultaneous Equation System," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 46(4), pages 931-959, July.
    19. Kenkel, Donald S, 1991. "Health Behavior, Health Knowledge, and Schooling," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 99(2), pages 287-305, April.
    20. Jonathan Gruber & Michael Frakes, 2005. "Does Falling Smoking Lead to Rising Obesity?," NBER Working Papers 11483, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    21. Grossman, Michael, 1972. "On the Concept of Health Capital and the Demand for Health," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 80(2), pages 223-255, March-Apr.
    22. Rodolfo Nayga, 2000. "Schooling, health knowledge and obesity," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(7), pages 815-822.
    23. Linda N. Edwards & Michael Grossman, 1979. "Adolescent Health, Family Background, and Preventive Medical Care," NBER Working Papers 0398, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    24. Fuchs, Victor R. (ed.), 1982. "Economic Aspects of Health," National Bureau of Economic Research Books, University of Chicago Press, number 9780226267852.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Andrew Tan & Steven Yen & Mustapha Feisul, 2012. "Determinants of body weight status in Malaysia: an ethnic comparison," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 57(2), pages 279-288, April.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. repec:rri:wpaper:200612 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Anura Amarasinghe & Gerard D’Souza & Cheryl Brown & Hyungna Oh & Tatiana Borisova, 2009. "The Influence of Socioeconomic and Environmental Determinants on Health and Obesity: A West Virginia Case Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 6(8), pages 1-17, August.
    3. Anura Amarasinghe & Gerard D'Souza & Cheryl Brown & Tatiana Borisova, 2006. "A Spatial Analysis of Obesity in West Virginia," Working Papers Working Paper 2006-13, Regional Research Institute, West Virginia University.
    4. repec:rri:wpaper:200613 is not listed on IDEAS
    5. Demydas, Tetyana, 2013. "Lifestyle factors, dietary quality and health: Econometric evidence from US micro data," Review of Agricultural and Environmental Studies - Revue d'Etudes en Agriculture et Environnement (RAEStud), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), vol. 94(2).
    6. Amarasinghe, Anura & D'Souza, Gerard E. & Brown, Cheryl & Borisova, Tatiana, 2006. "The Impact of Socioeconomic and Spatial Differences on Obesity in West Virginia," 2006 Annual meeting, July 23-26, Long Beach, CA 21159, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association).
    7. Gianluigi Coppola, 2012. "Health, Lifestyle and Growth," AIEL Series in Labour Economics, in: Giuliana Parodi & Dario Sciulli (ed.), Social Exclusion, chapter 0, pages 17-34, Springer.
    8. Coppola, Gianluigi & O'Higgins, Niall & Pinto, Claudio, 2015. "Smoking, Drinking, Never Thinking of Tomorrow: Income and Risky Choices amongst Young Adults in the UK," IZA Discussion Papers 9249, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    9. Adriana Barone & Cristian Barra, 2022. "Weight Status and Depression in Italy: Evidence from the Second Wave of the European Health Interview Survey," Journal of Interdisciplinary Economics, , vol. 34(2), pages 193-227, July.
    10. Costa-Font, Joan & Gil, Joan, 2008. "What lies behind socio-economic inequalities in obesity in Spain A decomposition approach," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 61-73, February.
    11. Tansel, Aysit & Keskin, Halil Ibrahim, 2017. "Education Effects on Days Hospitalized and Days out of Work by Gender: Evidence from Turkey," IZA Discussion Papers 11210, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    12. Massimiliano Bratti & Alfonso Miranda, 2010. "Non‐pecuniary returns to higher education: the effect on smoking intensity in the UK," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 19(8), pages 906-920, August.
    13. Hui He & Kevin X.D. Huang & Lei Ning, 2021. "Why Do Americans Spend So Much More On Health Care Than Europeans?," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 62(4), pages 1363-1399, November.
    14. Hui He & Kevin X.D. Huang & Lei Ning, 2019. "Why Do Americans Spend So Much More on Health Care than Europeans? (REVISED)," Vanderbilt University Department of Economics Working Papers 19-00008, Vanderbilt University Department of Economics.
    15. Joan Costa Font & Joan Gil Trasfi, 2005. "Obesity and the Incidence of Chronic Diseases: a Seemingly Unrelated Probit Approach," Working Papers in Economics 137, Universitat de Barcelona. Espai de Recerca en Economia.
    16. Barone, Adriana & O'Higgins, Niall, 2010. "Fat and out in Salerno and its province: Adolescent obesity and early school leaving in Southern Italy," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 8(1), pages 44-57, March.
    17. Contoyannis, Paul & Jones, Andrew M., 2004. "Socio-economic status, health and lifestyle," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 23(5), pages 965-995, September.
    18. Brad R. Humphreys & Logan McLeod & Jane E. Ruseski, 2014. "Physical Activity And Health Outcomes: Evidence From Canada," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 23(1), pages 33-54, January.
    19. Loureiro, Maria L. & Nayga, Rodolfo M., Jr., 2005. "Obesity Rates in OECD Countries: An International Perspective," 2005 International Congress, August 23-27, 2005, Copenhagen, Denmark 24454, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    20. Michael Grossman, 1999. "The Human Capital Model of the Demand for Health," NBER Working Papers 7078, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    21. Aysit Tansel & Halil Ibrahim Keskin, 2017. "Education Effects on Days Hospitalized and Days out of Work by Gender: Evidence from Turkey," Koç University-TUSIAD Economic Research Forum Working Papers 1721, Koc University-TUSIAD Economic Research Forum.
    22. Yoon, Jangho & Brown, Timothy T., 2011. "Does the promotion of community social capital reduce obesity risk?," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 40(3), pages 296-305, May.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    health; obesity; human capital; land use; rural;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • R11 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Regional Economic Activity: Growth, Development, Environmental Issues, and Changes
    • R52 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Regional Government Analysis - - - Land Use and Other Regulations
    • P28 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist and Transition Economies - - - Natural Resources; Environment

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:rri:wpaper:2006wp12. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Randall Jackson (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/rrwvuus.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.