title: Toward a quantitative theory of food consumption choices and body weight.
abstract: We propose a calibrated dynamic model of food consumption choices and body weight to study changes in daily caloric intake, weight, and the away-from-home share of calories consumed by adult men and women in the U.S. during the period between 1971 and 2006. Calibration reveals substantial preference heterogeneity between men and women. For example, utility losses stemming from weight gains are ten times greater for women compared to men. Counterfactual experiments show that changes in food prices and household income account for half of the increase in weight of adult men, but only a small fraction of women's weight. We argue that quantitative models of food consumption choices and body weight have a unique role to play in future research in the economics of obesity.
authors.affiliation: Guttman Community College, The City University of New York, 50 West 40th Avenue, New York, NY 11018, United States.
authors.forename: Sebastien
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Buttet
authors.affiliation: Economics Department, Long Island University, 720 Northern Boulevard, Brookville, NY 11542, United States. Electronic address: veronika.dolar@liu.edu.
authors.forename: Veronika
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Dolar
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D001835:Body Weight; D001837:Body Weights and Measures; D002755:Choice Behavior; D003132:Commerce; D002149:Energy Intake; D005260:Female; D005502:Food / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States; D015430:Weight Gain; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Body weight; Calories; Food away from home; Obesity; Price per calorie