LONGITUDINAL STUDIES OF HUMAN GROWTH AND HEALTH: A REVIEW OF RECENT HISTORICAL RESEARCH

Abstract This paper reviews recent literature using stature and weight as measures of human welfare with a particular interest in cliometric or historical research. We begin with an overview of anthropometric evidence of living standards and the new but fast‐growing field of anthropometric history. This literature is always implicitly and often explicitly longitudinal in nature. We then discuss (i) systematic empirical research into the relationship between conditions in early life and later life health and mortality and (ii) historical evidence on the relationship between body mass, morbidity and mortality. We conclude with a discussion of the importance of historical sources and understandings to health economics and population health.     

How do obese people afford to be obese? Consumption strategies of Russian households

This article investigates the extent to which Russian households that differ in their members’ weight status adjust their food consumption differently when their economic resources change. Using household‐panel data from the Russia Longitudinal Monitoring Survey (RLMS) from 1995 to 2005, we estimate total expenditure elasticities of food expenditures, food quantities, and food quality for normal‐weight, overweight, and obese households, respectively. The expenditure elasticities of quality derived for obese households for meat, bread, fruits, and dairy were found to be 15–20% higher than those of normal households. Hence, a change in economic resources causes obese households to adjust the quality of purchased foods significantly more flexibly than normal‐weight households. Only few differences were found for quantity and expenditure reactions. Our results emphasize that policies aiming to reduce obesity should consider deviations in consumption behavior of normal and obese consumers in terms of quality.     

Policy metaphors: From the tuberculosis crusade to the obesity apocalypse

In this paper we examine the conceptual and political work that metaphors do, with particular regard to how they construct problems and thus in turn limit the range of solutions.¹ Common metaphors in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia are examined (war, disease and crime metaphors, and the economy and nation as a body) by analysing historical and modern texts about the policy issues of tuberculosis, immigration, asylum seeking, welfare, obesity and food insecurity. Through this we show that metaphors, in conjunction with discourses, may work to: naturalise and privilege certain constructions of problems; attribute blame and responsibility; support claims about the urgency and extent of required intervention (and who should deliver it, to whom and how); influence the identification and consideration of solutions by constructing the problem in particular ways; intentionally or unintentionally result in stigmatisation and non-trivial discrimination (social and workplace); and erase or highlight the role of actors, processes, social relations and systems. Vallis has developed the analysis, the bulk of the paper, and Inayatullah has articulated the theoretical links to causal layered analaysis (CLA). While there are multiple ways to use CLA, in this paper we use CLA to map a number of issues accross perspectives and frames, and to deconstruct creating the possibility for alternative futures. We do not explore alternative or preferred futures.     

Coca‐Cola and the Fight against the Global Obesity Epidemic

Coca‐Cola, the century‐old iconic brand associated with bringing happiness and harmony, is facing an ethical and financial dilemma as it attempts to balance its corporate needs with those of society. The soft drink industry as a whole, and Coke in particular, has received harsh criticism for contributing to the global obesity epidemic. Rising health concerns among consumers have resulted in a continuous decline in soda consumption in some key international markets. Considered one of the leading global brands and among the most admired corporations, Coca‐Cola claims it supports the fight against obesity, sponsoring campaigns, research, and initiatives to promote physical activities. However, critics assert the company has used deception and undue influence to dismiss the harmful effects of soda, similar to the tactics of the tobacco industry. Forced to respond to mounting criticism, Coca‐Cola must navigate between meeting shareholder demands and maintaining its reputation as a socially responsible organization. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

A latent class model for obesity

We extend the discrete data latent class literature by explicitly defining a latent variable for class membership as a function of both observables and unobservables, thereby allowing the equations defining the class membership and observed outcomes to be correlated. The procedure is then applied to modelling observed obesity outcomes, based upon an underlying ordered probit equation.     

Do menu-labelling laws translate into results? The disparate impacts on population obesity and diabetes

ABSTRACT

Despite their joint importance to health care costs, the nature of the relationship between obesity and diabetes is contested within the medical literature. We leverage California’s 2008 law mandating menu-labelling at restaurants to confirm that the law reduced obesity compared to the experience of counties not subject to such regulation. Despite this reduction in obesity, we find no California-specific reduction in the prevalence of diabetes and we find a significantly positive impact on the likelihood of new diabetes diagnoses. We evaluate a range of potential hypotheses that rationalize the divergent findings on obesity and diabetes.     

Implementation of healthy food environment policies to prevent nutrition-related non-communicable diseases in Ghana: National experts’ assessment of government action

Nutrition-related non-communicable diseases (NR-NCDs) are a global health problem, increasingly recognised as driven by unhealthy food environments. Yet little is known about government action to implement food environment-relevant policies, particularly in low-and lower-middle income countries. This study assessed government action, implementation gaps, and priorities to improve the food environment in Ghana. Using the Healthy Food-Environment Policy Index (Food-EPI), a panel comprising government and independent experts (n = 19) rated government action to improve the healthiness of food environment in Ghana against international best practices and according to steps within a policy cycle. Forty-three good practice indicators of food environment policy and infrastructure support were used, with ratings informed by systematically collected evidence of action validated by government officials. Following the rating exercise, the expert panel proposed and prioritized actions for government implementation. Three-quarters of all good practice indicators were rated at ‘low’/‘very little’ implementation. Restricting the marketing of breast milk substitutes was the only indicator rated “very high”. Of ten policy actions prioritized for implementation, restricting unhealthy food marketing in children’s settings and in the media were ranked the highest priority. Providing sufficient funds for nationally-relevant research on nutrition and NCDs was the highest priority infrastructure-support action. Other priority infrastructure-support actions related to leadership, monitoring and evaluation. This study identified gaps in Ghana’s implementation of internationally-recommended policies to promote healthy food environments. National stakeholders recommended actions, which will require legislation and leadership. The findings provide a baseline for measuring government progress towards implementing effective policies to prevent NR-NCDs.     

A reconsideration of the sugar sweetened beverage tax in a household production model

We study the impact of a hypothetical tax on sugar - sweetened beverages (SSBs) on the U.S. households’ nutrients purchase, welfare change, and health benefit. Differently from the traditional approach, Food at Home (FAH) is here defined as a “home” good instead of a market good and consumers’ demands derived under the assumption that households maximize utility subject to both a money and a time constraint. The model is estimated by using an incomplete approximate Exact Affine Stone Index (EASI) demand system on a data set built by merging the U.S. consumer expenditure and time use surveys. Results show that a SSB tax would be much more effective in decreasing household nutrients purchase than it would appear by estimating a model neglecting time costs in home food production, due to a lesser compensation of calories from increasing FAH consumption. A tax-induced 38% increase in SSB price is predicted to decrease the per capita energy purchase by 41 kcal/day.     

Eating fast food: attitudes of high‐school students

Alarmingly consistent recent research shows that industrially produced foods such as fast food contain compounds that add to obesity and high cholesterol among young people. Less physical activity and a higher propensity to eat ready‐made food (in Sweden and internationally) have aggravated the health situation for the young generation. They also have become ‘addicted’ to sugar by the consumption of lemonade and other sweet drinks that are often served in conjunction with fast food. Food consumption patterns are highly cultural, and, once formed in early years, they become difficult to change. The findings of this study, which was based on a small sample of written accounts and transcribed interviews, indicate that high‐school students in Sweden are well aware of the good and bad attributes of fast food, such as: speed, convenience, fat and sugar. Clear differences in attitude were found between male and female students: female students view fast food in a broad food chain context, whereas male students concentrate on fast eating and satiety.     

Modeling the clinical and economic implications of obesity using microsimulation

Abstract

Objectives:

The obesity epidemic has raised considerable public health concerns, but there are few validated longitudinal simulation models examining the human and economic cost of obesity. This paper describes a microsimulation model as a comprehensive tool to understand the relationship between body weight, health, and economic outcomes.