Gender differences,physical activity and body weight

We investigate the effect of physical activity on bodyweight and the gender differences in such effects, following the copula approach to endogenous switching regression. Using data from the 2006 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), we find differentiated effects of socio-demographic variables on exercise and on Body Mass Indexes (BMIs), and differentiated effects of exercise on BMI, between genders. Regular exercise, on average, decreases BMI by 1.78 for women and 1.01 for men. Food price away from home has negative effects on BMI of both men and women.