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OBESITY AND NUTRIENT CONSUMPTION: A RATIONAL ADDICTION?
Author(s) -
RICHARDS TIMOTHY J.,
PATTERSON PAUL M.,
TEGENE ABEBAYEHU
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
contemporary economic policy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.454
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1465-7287
pISSN - 1074-3529
DOI - 10.1111/j.1465-7287.2007.00047.x
Subject(s) - overconsumption , economics , consumption (sociology) , addiction , subsidy , obesity , public economics , environmental health , microeconomics , medicine , production (economics) , psychiatry , market economy , social science , sociology
Recent research shows that the dramatic rise in obesity in the United States is due more to the overconsumption of unhealthy foods than underactivity. This study tests for an addiction to food nutrients as a potential explanation for the apparent excessive consumption. A random coefficients (mixed) logit model is used to test a multivariate rational addiction model. The results reveal a particularly strong addiction to carbohydrates. The implication of this finding is that price‐based policies, sin taxes, or produce subsidies that change the expected future costs and benefits of consuming carbohydrate‐intensive foods may be effective in controlling excessive nutrient intake. ( JEL D120, I120, C230)