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Mental health and obesity

Dusanee Kesavayuth & Vasileios Zikos

Applied Economic Analysis2024https://doi.org/10.1108/aea-06-2023-0212article
AJG 1ABDC B
Weight
0.64

Abstract

Purpose Obesity is a significant public health issue. With obesity increasing worldwide, risk factors for obesity need to be better understood and require careful examination. This study aims to examine mental health as a risk factor for obesity using longitudinal data from Australia. Design/methodology/approach The main identification strategy relies on the recent death of a close friend and a serious injury or illness to a family member as exogenous shocks to mental health. Findings The authors’ preferred estimates, which account for the endogeneity of mental health, suggest that mental health has a significant negative impact on obesity. This result proves to be robust to a suite of sensitivity checks. Further investigations reveal that poor mental health leads to increased smoking, which also has an effect on obesity. Originality/value The study’s findings provide a new perspective on how good mental health helps curb obesity.

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1108/aea-06-2023-0212

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@article{dusanee2024,
  title        = {{Mental health and obesity}},
  author       = {Dusanee Kesavayuth & Vasileios Zikos},
  journal      = {Applied Economic Analysis},
  year         = {2024},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1108/aea-06-2023-0212},
}

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Evidence weight

0.64

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.77 × 0.4 = 0.31
M · momentum0.70 × 0.15 = 0.10
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.