Venue: The Fuqua School of Business, Duke University, 1 Towerview Drive, Durham, NC 27708-0120

 

Presentation

Changes over time in the relationship of obesity to education accumulation

Authors:

Presenter: Timothy Classen (Loyola University Chicago)

Discussant: M. Christopher Auld (University of Calgary)

Session: Obesity and Education

Room: Classroom A

When: Monday 5:15 p.m. - 6:45 p.m.

This project examines whether the influence of obesity in late adolescence on education accumulation has changed over time as the proportion of obese adolescents has increased substantially over the previous three decades. Previous studies have indicated that obesity has asymmetric consequences between genders on socioeconomic outcomes such as income, wealth and education. Earlier research using a recent cohort found that females who are obese in late adolescence are less likely to finish high school and go on to college relative to their peers with recommended weight levels. Weight status did not appear to significantly influence education accumulation among male students in this cohort. This project attempts to discern whether these relationships existed when a much smaller fraction of adolescents were overweight or obese. Thus, the results in this project allow for consideration of the influence of obesity on education accumulation as the proportion of adolescent peers with weight problems varies substantially.