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The following is a Research Innovation and Development Grants in Economics
(RIDGE) project summary. More...
All projects summarized were conducted under research grants from ERS and the views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of ERS or USDA.
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resulting from the project summarized here.
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Project:
Food Stamp Program Participation and Obesity: Estimates From the NLSY79Year: 2001 Research Center: Joint Center for Poverty Research, University of Chicago and Northwestern University Investigator: Gibson, Diane, Institution: Baruch College Project Contact:
Diane Gibson, Assistant Professor
Baruch College
CUNY School of Public Affairs
17 Lexington Avenue, Box D-418
New York, NY 10010
Phone: 212-802-5970
Fax: 212-802-5968
Diane_Gibson@baruch.cuny.edu Summary: This study examined the relationship between Food
Stamp Program (FSP) participation and adult obesity.
Based on past empirical research and the human
capital model of the demand for health, the relationship
between FSP participation and obesity is indeterminate.
This study used the National Longitudinal
Survey of Youth (NLSY79) to examine the relationship
between FSP participation and obesity. A benefit of
using the NLSY79 is that it is possible to include
detailed controls for current income, FSP participation,
and long-term eligibility for and participation in the
FSP, as well as individual fixed effects.
Current and long-term FSP participation are positively
and significantly related to obesity for low-income
women in models with individual fixed effects. The
estimates suggest that food stamp benefits do not have
the same relationship to obesity as do cash income or
other benefits provided by the Government. FSP
participation is associated with approximately a 9.2-
percent increase in the probability of obesity, and 5
years of FSP participation in the previous 5 years is
associated with approximately a 19-percent increase in
the probability of obesity for low-income women. By
contrast, the relationship between FSP participation
and high body mass index (BMI), although statistically
significant, is considerably less. Current FSP participation
is associated with an almost 1-percent increase in
BMI, and 5 years of FSP participation in the previous
5 years is associated with an almost 3-percent increase
in BMI for low-income women. Current and long-term
FSP participation is not significantly related to obesity
for low-income married men in models with individual
fixed effects. However, long-term FSP participation is
positively and significantly related to BMI. Five years
of FSP participation in the previous 5 years is associated
with approximately a 3-percent increase in BMI
for low-income married men.
The models did not control explicitly for food insecurity,
and this exclusion may confound the relationship
between FSP participation and obesity. Assuming the
relationship between FSP participation and obesity is
estimated correctly, recommendations for policy
changes to reduce obesity will depend on the mechanism
for the relationship between FSP participation
and obesity. The analyses in this research are based on
the human capital model of obesity, where FSP participation
is related to obesity as a result of the resources
and education provided by the FSP. Therefore, the
model implies that education and changes in restrictions
on the use of FSP benefits, the mode of delivery,
and the amount of FSP benefits are possible policy
tools to reduce the prevalence of obesity among FSP
participants.
The large increase in the predicted probability of
obesity for low-income women who participate in the
FSP suggests the usefulness of nutrition education or
other education programs that aim to reduce the
obesity of FSP participants, regardless of whether
obesity is caused by or simply correlated with FSP
participation. The author also notes that the research
findings suggest that more attention should be paid to
the food choices made by FSP participants and the
ways in which the program influences those food
choices. Other possible policies aimed at reducing
obesity could change the mode of delivery or the
amount of FSP benefits. However, it is important to
note that obesity is not a problem for all FSP participants.
A reduction in benefits may increase other problems
for the participant or members of his or her
family.
A person’s obesity status is influenced by current and
past choices concerning food consumption and health
behaviors. In order to determine the most effective
policies for reducing obesity among food stamp recipients,
more research is needed that will examine the
relationship between FSP participation and these
choices.
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