Insights INTO obesity from a behavioral economics perspective: Discussion

Craig Gundersen, Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach, David R. Just

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The relationship between the factors that go into producing obesity is quite complicated. For example, women with higher wages have a higher opportunity cost of exercising and cooking at home which would tend to increase weight but they also have more resources to purchase efficiency enhancers such as personal trainers and healthier prepared food which would tend to decrease weight. There is a building consensus that traditional economic models are inadequate to describe the production of body weight and obesity, and insights from psychology and behavioral economics can improve one's ability to understand these outcomes. The decision context is further complicated when parents are involved in purchasing decisions. Parents may care more about the healthfulness of the meal and therefore be more responsive to defaults than children.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)344-346
Number of pages3
JournalAmerican Journal of Agricultural Economics
Volume94
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 1 2012

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Agricultural and Biological Sciences (miscellaneous)
  • Economics and Econometrics

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Insights INTO obesity from a behavioral economics perspective: Discussion'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this