TY  - RPRT
        AU  - Oswald, Andrew J.
AU  - Powdthavee, Nattavudh
        TI  - Obesity, Unhappiness, and The Challenge of Affluence: Theory and Evidence
        PY  - 2007/Mar/
        PB  - Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
        CY  - Bonn
        T2  - IZA Discussion Paper
        IS  - 2717
        UR  - https://www.iza.org/index.php/publications/dp2717
        AB  - Is affluence a good thing? The book The Challenge of Affluence by Avner Offer (2006) argues that economic prosperity weakens self-control and undermines human well-being. Consistent with a pessimistic view, we show that psychological distress has been rising through time in modern Great Britain. Taking over-eating as an example, our data reveal that half the British population view themselves as overweight, and that happiness and mental health are worse among fatter people in both Britain and Germany. A 10-point move up in body mass index (BMI) is associated in the cross-section with a drop in psychological health of approximately 0.3 GHQ points. Comparisons also matter. For a given level of BMI, we find that people who are educated or who have high income are more likely to view themselves as overweight. We discuss problems of inference and argue that longitudinal data on BMI are needed. We suggest a theory of imitation – where utility depends on relative weight – in which there can be obesity spirals after only small drops in the price of food.
        KW  - weight
KW  - imitation
KW  - GSOEP
KW  - body mass index
KW  - happiness
KW  - mental health
KW  - General Health Questionnaire
KW  - GHQ scores
KW  - BMI
KW  - well-being
KW  - obesity
KW  - BHPS
KW  - relative income
KW  - comparisons
        ER  -