IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/wai/econwp/17-15.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Long-Run Changes in the Body Mass Index of Adults in Three Food-Abundant Settler Societies: Australia, Canada and New Zealand

Author

Listed:
  • John Cranfield

    (University of Guelph)

  • Kris Inwood

    (University of Guelph)

  • Les Oxley

    (University of Waikato)

  • Evan Roberts

    (University of Minnesota)

Abstract

We identify changes in body mass index (BMI) since the 19th century, for three British-origin, food abundant, settler societies: Australia, Canada and New Zealand. The onset of sustained BMI increase came later in these societies than in the US. New Zealand shows a distinctive pattern of within-country gender differences. The gap between Australian Canadian males (leading) and female BMIs remains large with some increases in the gap in the 35-39 year age group, but narrowing in the 45-49 range especially in Australia. In contrast, the BMI of both sexes in New Zealand has effectively converged for most age ranges (although it has been similar for the 45-49 age range since 1977). In terms of cross-country comparisons, the results show a remarkably similar long-term pattern for males in all three countries although the absolute differences between leading BMI countries has changed over time culminating in New Zealand being the ‘top ranked’ obese country for males in the 20-49 age group. For females the pattern and trends are quite different, with New Zealand women exceeding the BMI of same aged females in Australia and Canada from the 1980s onwards. If anything the results suggest that New Zealand female BMI continues to grow while that of Australia may be leveling off.

Suggested Citation

  • John Cranfield & Kris Inwood & Les Oxley & Evan Roberts, 2017. "Long-Run Changes in the Body Mass Index of Adults in Three Food-Abundant Settler Societies: Australia, Canada and New Zealand," Working Papers in Economics 17/15, University of Waikato.
    • Handle: RePEc:wai:econwp:17/15
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://repec.its.waikato.ac.nz/wai/econwp/1715.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Costa-Font, Joan & Gil, Joan, 2005. "Obesity and the incidence of chronic diseases in Spain: A seemingly unrelated probit approach," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 3(2), pages 188-214, July.
    2. Komlos, John & Baur, Marieluise, 2004. "From the tallest to (one of) the fattest: the enigmatic fate of the American population in the 20th century," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 2(1), pages 57-74, March.
    3. David Greasley & Les Oxley, 2002. "Regime shift and fast recovery on the periphery: New Zealand in the 1930s," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 55(4), pages 697-720, November.
    4. Cole, T. J., 2003. "The secular trend in human physical growth: a biological view," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 1(2), pages 161-168, June.
    5. Borghans, Lex & Golsteyn, Bart H.H., 2006. "Time discounting and the body mass index: Evidence from the Netherlands," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 4(1), pages 39-61, January.
    6. David M. Cutler & Edward L. Glaeser & Jesse M. Shapiro, 2003. "Why Have Americans Become More Obese?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 17(3), pages 93-118, Summer.
    7. Carson, Scott Alan, 2009. "Racial differences in body mass indices of men imprisoned in 19th Century Texas," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 7(1), pages 121-127, March.
    8. Heineck, Guido, 2006. "Height and weight in Germany, evidence from the German Socio-Economic Panel, 2002," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 4(3), pages 359-382, December.
    9. Rashad, Inas, 2006. "Structural estimation of caloric intake, exercise, smoking, and obesity," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 46(2), pages 268-283, May.
    10. Kaushal, N., 2007. "Do food stamps cause obesity?: Evidence from immigrant experience," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 26(5), pages 968-991, September.
    11. Ruhm Christopher J, 2007. "Current and Future Prevalence of Obesity and Severe Obesity in the United States," Forum for Health Economics & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 10(2), pages 1-28, September.
    12. Roderick Floud, 1998. "Height, Weight, and Body Mass of the British Population Since 1820," NBER Historical Working Papers 0108, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    13. Inas Rashad & Michael Grossman & Shin-Yi Chou, 2006. "The Super Size of America: An Economic Estimation of Body Mass Index and Obesity in Adults," Eastern Economic Journal, Eastern Economic Association, vol. 32(1), pages 133-148, Winter.
    14. Kimhi, Ayal, 2003. "Socio-economic determinants of health and physical fitness in southern Ethiopia," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 1(1), pages 55-75, January.
    15. Komlos, John & Carson, Scott, 2017. "The BMI values of the lower classes likely declined during the Great Depression," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 26(C), pages 137-143.
    16. Zagorsky, Jay L., 2005. "Health and wealth: The late-20th century obesity epidemic in the U.S," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 3(2), pages 296-313, July.
    17. Huffman, Sonya K. & Rizov, Marian, 2007. "Determinants of obesity in transition economies: The case of Russia," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 5(3), pages 379-391, December.
    18. 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.
    19. Ver Ploeg, Michele & Mancino, Lisa & Lin, Biing-Hwan & Wang, Chia-Yih, 2007. "The vanishing weight gap: Trends in obesity among adult food stamp participants (US) (1976-2002)," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 5(1), pages 20-36, March.
    20. Carson, Scott Alan, 2007. "Mexican body mass index values in the late-19th-century American West," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 5(1), pages 37-47, March.
    21. Kahn, H.S. & Tatham, L.M. & Rodriguez, C. & Calle, E.E. & Thun, M.J. & Heath Jr., C.W., 1997. "Stable behaviors associated with adults' 10-year change in body mass index and likelihood of gain at the waist," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 87(5), pages 747-754.
    22. Kris Inwood & Les Oxley & Evan Roberts, 2010. "Physical Stature In Nineteenth‐Century New Zealand: A Preliminary Interpretation," Australian Economic History Review, Economic History Society of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 50(3), pages 262-283, November.
    23. Cranfield, John & Inwood, Kris, 2007. "The great transformation: A long-run perspective on physical well-being in Canada," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 5(2), pages 204-228, July.
    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. Begoña Candela-Martínez & José M. Martínez-Carrión & Cándido Román-Cervantes, 2021. "Biological Well-Being and Inequality in Canary Islands: Lanzarote (Cohorts 1886–1982)," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(23), pages 1-21, December.

    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. 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.
    2. Huffman, Sonya K. & Rizov, Marian, 2007. "Determinants of obesity in transition economies: The case of Russia," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 5(3), pages 379-391, December.
    3. Charles J. Courtemanche & Joshua C. Pinkston & Christopher J. Ruhm & George L. Wehby, 2016. "Can Changing Economic Factors Explain the Rise in Obesity?," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 82(4), pages 1266-1310, April.
    4. Costa-Font, Joan & Fabbri, Daniele & Gil, Joan, 2009. "Decomposing body mass index gaps between Mediterranean countries: A counterfactual quantile regression analysis," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 7(3), pages 351-365, December.
    5. John Komlos & Marek Brabec, 2010. "The Trend of Mean BMI Values of US Adults, Birth Cohorts 1882-1986 Indicates that the Obesity Epidemic Began Earlier than Hitherto Thought," NBER Working Papers 15862, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Komlos, John & Brabec, Marek, 2011. "The trend of BMI values of US adults by deciles, birth cohorts 1882-1986 stratified by gender and ethnicity," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 9(3), pages 234-250, July.
    7. Huffman, Sonya Kostova & Rizov, Marian, 2008. "The rise of obesity in transition economies: theory and evidence from Russian longitudinal monitoring survey," 2008 Annual Meeting, July 27-29, 2008, Orlando, Florida 6556, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association).
    8. John Komlos & Marek Brabec, 2010. "The Trend of BMI Values among US Adults," CESifo Working Paper Series 2987, CESifo.
    9. Carson, Scott Alan, 2019. "Late 19th, early 20th century US, foreign-born body mass index values in the United States," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 26-38.
    10. Zagorsky, Jay L. & Smith, Patricia K., 2009. "Does the U.S. Food Stamp Program contribute to adult weight gain?," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 7(2), pages 246-258, July.
    11. Banterle, Alessandro & Cavaliere, Alessia, 2009. "The social and economic determinants of obesity: an empirical study in Italy," 113th Seminar, September 3-6, 2009, Chania, Crete, Greece 90889, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    12. Maximilian D. Schmeiser, 2012. "The impact of long‐term participation in the supplemental nutrition assistance program on child obesity," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 21(4), pages 386-404, April.
    13. Scott Alan Carson & Scott A. Carson, 2022. "Nineteenth and Early 20th Century Physical Activity and Calories by Gender and Race," CESifo Working Paper Series 10140, CESifo.
    14. Alois Stutzer & Armando N. Meier, 2016. "Limited Self‐control, Obesity, and the Loss of Happiness," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 25(11), pages 1409-1424, November.
    15. Baum II, Charles L. & Ruhm, Christopher J., 2009. "Age, socioeconomic status and obesity growth," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 635-648, May.
    16. Cavaco, Sandra & Eriksson, Tor & Skalli, Ali, 2014. "Life cycle development of obesity and its determinants in six European countries," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 14(C), pages 62-78.
    17. Costa-Font, Joan & Györi, Mario, 2020. "The weight of patriarchy? Gender obesity gaps in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 266(C).
    18. 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.
    19. Pieroni, Luca & Salmasi, Luca, 2010. "Body weight and socio-economic determinants: quantile estimations from the British Household Panel Survey," ISER Working Paper Series 2010-41, Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    20. yamamura, eiji, 2008. "Positive externalities of congestion, human capital, and socio-economic factors: A case study of chronic illness in Japan," MPRA Paper 10833, University Library of Munich, Germany.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    obesity; body mass index; Canada; New Zealand; Australia;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I1 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health
    • J11 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Demographic Trends, Macroeconomic Effects, and Forecasts
    • N3 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:wai:econwp:17/15. 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: Geua Boe-Gibson (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/dewaknz.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.