Health Economics of Obesity: A Cross-Cultural Examination of Markets and Psychographic Factors

By Dr. Eric V. Bindah

The prevalence of overweight and obesity is increasing worldwide at an alarming rate and both developed and developing countries are affected. The whole journey of this book began with a humble initiative to document research on health economics of obesity and its implications in industrialized countries. The main aim of this book is to present contemporary issues on health economics of obesity for researchers, academics, marketers (consumer behaviour), sociologists, healthcare practitioners, policy makers and students who have an interest in the field of health economics. The content of this book is derived from research conducted from various perspectives. It consists of a systematic compilation of chapters on different important variables which affect obesity. The research topics span from the direct to indirect effect of: smoking behaviour and alcohol consumptions, physical activities, dietary habits, and psychographics, on obesity across cultures in developed nations. It also examines various demographic groups in which obesity tends to be more apparent. It provides an assessment of the various measurement instruments which were developed and adapted in various studies across cultures to measure various variables associated with obesity. It is hoped that this book will provide a platform for researchers and practitioners to learn more about the various factors that impact on obesity and further investigate them in different settings especially in developing countries.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Partridge Publishing Singapore
• Release date: Feb 17, 2016
• ISBN: 9781482864205

Dr. Eric V. Bindah

Dr. Eric V. Bindah currently serves as Assistant Professor at the University of Buraimi, in the Sultanate of Oman. He obtained his Ph.D (Marketing) and MBA (International Business) from University of Malaya. His research interest is in marketing and entrepreneurship. His work has appeared in broad refereed academic journals worldwide.

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Health Economics of Obesity

A Cross-Cultural Examination of Markets and Psychographic Factors

Dr. Eric V. Bindah

Assistant Professor

2016

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Copyright © 2016 by Eric V. Bindah.

ISBN: eBook 978-1-4828-6420-5

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

www.partridgepublishing.com/singapore

Contents

Preface

Chapter One

Introduction

Chapter Two

Smoking Behaviour and Obesity

Chapter Three

Alcohol Consumption and Obesity

Chapter Four

Physical Activity and Obesity

Chapter Five

Dietary Habits and Obesity

Chapter Six

Psychographics and Demographics

Associated With Obesity

1. Family and Obesity

2. Gender, Smoking and Obesity

3. Gender, Alcohol Consumption and Obesity

4. Poverty Index, Education Level and Obesity

5. Ethnicity and Obesity

6. Social Class and Obesity

7. Life Cycle and Obesity

8. Life Expectancy and Obesity

9. Quality of Life, Acculturation and Obesity

10. Marital Status and Obesity

11. Geographic Location and Obesity

Conclusion

Bibliography

Preface

The health consequences of obesity are many and varied, ranging from an increased risk of premature death to several non-fatal but debilitating complaints that adversely impact quality of life. Obesity is a major risk factor for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular diseases (heart disease, stroke and hypertension) and cancer, and in many industrialized countries it is associated with various psychosocial consequences. Obesity has very high costs for societies, as the resulting disabilities and diseases create huge burdens for families and health systems. The experience of developed countries clearly demonstrated that the cost of morbidity and mortality associated with increasing obesity would be overwhelming for developing countries.

This book examines the relative significance of time discounting in explaining changes in Body Mass Index (BMI) compared to market and socio-cultural factors and the differences in lifestyles across nations and its effect on BMI in various developed nations. The investigation and findings gathered from across nations could help to understand better the development or factors affecting obesity, which is a rising concern globally, regardless of ethnicity, cultural background, or age. It is expected to contribute to the extensive body of knowledge and addresses the ongoing debate worldwide on the preventive measures which could be adopted to reduce obesity.

This book provides an assessment of the various measurement instruments which have been developed and adapted in various studies across cultures. It provides an insight into the various measurement instruments used to measure various variables which were found to be positively associated with obesity.

This book explores the determining factors attributed to obesity. It examines the effect of family, demographic and psychographic factors which effect on obesity. It also examines how gender and smoking impact on obesity across various cultures. The effect of gender and alcohol consumption on obesity is also discussed. The poverty index, education levels are assessed to determine if there are any implications on obesity. This book also explores the effect of ethnicity, social class, life cycle and expectancy, the quality of life and acculturation on obesity. The effect of marital status and geographic location is also discussed. The book concludes with an overall assessment on studies conducted across cultures.

The author expressed hope that this work will be useful for researchers, academics, marketers, sociologists, healthcare practitioners, policy makers and students who have an interest in the area of health economics as well as consumer behaviour. It is hoped that researchers will be able to expand the chapters and provide latest trends in this area in the near future, thus contributing to knowledge. Finally, it is hoped that readers will enjoy reading this book.

Assistant Professor. Dr Eric V. Bindah

Key Words: Obesity; Time Discounting Factors; Markets; Lifestyles; Culture; Measurement Instruments; Body Mass Index; Physical Activity; Dietary Habits; Smoking Behaviour; Acculturation; Consumption; Demographics.

Chapter One

Introduction

Obesity is described as the state of imbalance between the expenditure of calories versus caloric intake which ultimately leads to excess fat accumulation and can be measured by Body Mass Index. The number of overweight and obese people, particularly children, has reached epidemic levels in developed and newly industrialized countries. It has also started to rise in developing countries in which deficiency diseases and malnutrition still represent a major public health problem. Based on the World Health Organization (WHO) report (2009), the prevalence of overweight and obesity is increasing worldwide at an alarming rate. Both developed and developing countries are affected. In low-income countries, obesity is more common in middle-aged women, people of higher socioeconomic status and those living in urban communities. In more affluent countries, obesity is common not only in the middle-aged, but is also becoming increasingly prevalent among younger adults, adolescents and children. Furthermore, it tends to be associated with lower socioeconomic status, especially in women, and the urban–rural differences are diminished or even reversed.

The health consequences of obesity are many and varied, ranging from an increased risk of premature death to several non-fatal but debilitating complaints that adversely impact quality of life. Obesity is a major risk factor for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular diseases (heart disease, stroke and hypertension) and cancer, and in many industrialized countries it is associated with various psychosocial consequences. Abdominal obesity is a particular area of concern as it is associated with elevated risks to health in comparison to a more peripheral fat distribution. Therefore, obesity has very high costs for societies, as the resulting disabilities and diseases create huge burdens for families and health systems. The experience of developed countries clearly demonstrated that the cost of morbidity and mortality associated with increasing obesity would be overwhelming for developing countries.

This book details out the degree to which a health economic theoretical approach can predict variation in BMI. These factors include time discounting measured by smoking, alcohol consumption and physical activity; market factors measured by poverty level and education in years and socio-cultural factors. This book also examines the relative significance of time discounting in explaining changes in BMI compared to market and socio-cultural factors and the differences in lifestyles across nations its effect on BMI. Ultimately this chapter identifies the factors contributing to obesity. The investigation and findings gathered from across nations could help to understand better the development or factors affecting obesity, which is a rising concern globally, regardless of ethnicity, cultural background, or age. This work is expected to contribute to the extensive body of knowledge that exists and to address the current ongoing debate worldwide on the preventive measures which could be adopted to reduce obesity.

This book provides insight into the issue of obesity and provides an avenue for nations involved to share their expertise on the issue and ultimately work on a collective basis to combat the epidemic following the findings of this study. Taking it to further steps, this study could also be used and extended to other comparable countries and even advanced countries and benefit humanity on a global scale, as the attempt is made to fight obesity. From an academic perspective, this study would be useful, as methodologies including instruments which were developed across nations could be adopted and used in other regions of the world by researchers to understand the issue. Education fosters cognitive information of varying social and economic values. One’s social background, lifestyle, culture and status and can ultimately affect health outcomes. The implications of poor economic attainment are actualized through increased chronic illness for vulnerable population groups and barriers in treatment seeking and compliance behaviours. This work is beneficial as it provides further insights into the prevalence of obesity, it would be especially beneficial to the public health policy makers’ community, government institutions and parents to improve the nutritional status corresponding to their respective environment.

The burden of ill health is changing rapidly, and non-communicable diseases are an increasing threat to the majority of the world’s population. Research is therefore essential for understanding and tackling obesity. The role of research is to provide evidence that can shape development policies and programmes. Using evidence in policy and practice means that