Indebted and overweight: The link between weight and household debt

Arbeitspapier

There is a substantial correlation between household debt and bodyweight. Theory suggests that a causal relationship between debt and bodyweight could run in either direction or both could be caused by unobserved common factors. We use OLS and Propensity Score Matching to ascertain if household debt (measured by credit card indebtedness and having trouble paying bills) is a potential cause of obesity. We find a strong positive correlation between debt and weight for women but this seems driven largely by unobservables. In contrast, men with trouble paying their bills are thinner and this is robust to various specification checks.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: IZA Discussion Papers ; No. 6898

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Health: General ; Health Behavior ; Health and Inequality
• Subject: obesity ; credit card debt ; propensity score matching ; Private Verschuldung ; Körpergewicht ; Schätzung ; USA

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Averett, Susan L. ; Smith, Julie K.
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)
• (where): Bonn
• (when): 2012

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/67186
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:44 AM CET