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Does income positively affect obesity at the macro level?

International Journal of Obesity volume 41, pages 352–353 (2017)Cite this article

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Studying obesity is first and foremost an individual-level research problem. We know the components affecting the condition: calorie intake, calorie output and genetic predisposition. If sufficient income is available (sometimes, it is not, particularly in poor countries like Somalia), different dietary choice can be made.

Many individual-level studies report a negative relationship between income and obesity, that is, the wealthier a person is, the less likely she is to become obese. However, many country-level studies like the recent one by Rybnikova et al.1 in IJO find that per capita income, used as a control, positively affects obesity. The explanation for this paradox might be selection bias at the macro level.

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References

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  1. Department of Social Sciences, Chair of Comparative Politics and Public Policy, University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany

    T J Selck

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  1. T J Selck
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Correspondence to T J Selck.

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Selck, T. Does income positively affect obesity at the macro level?. Int J Obes 41, 352–353 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2016.200

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