Worth Your Weight: Experimental Evidence on the Benefits of Obesity in Low-Income Countries

ByThe Short Paper

Experimental evidence suggests that being obese can have advantages in low-income countries

This study examined how obesity is perceived in terms of economic value in Uganda. It found that in poorer countries like Uganda, obesity is seen as a sign of wealth but not necessarily beauty or good health. Through experiments involving loan officers, the study showed that obese individuals have easier access to credit. This “obesity premium” in accessing credit is significant, akin to increasing reported earnings by 60%. However, this advantage diminishes when more financial information is provided. It’s important to note that both the benefits of obesity and its value as a wealth signal are often overestimated, indicating potential market distortions.

Macchi, Elisa. 2023. “Worth Your Weight: Experimental Evidence on the Benefits of Obesity in Low-Income Countries.” American Economic Review, 113 (9): 2287-2322.

Similar Posts

CAR-T Cell Therapy will it work? Biotech Stocks Part 1

ByThe Short Paper

Disclaimer: I do not have a background in finance. I do have a background in medicine. I’m writing about CAR-T cell therapy because it’s been something I’ve been interested in for a while. I am not sure what impact it will have on biotech stocks or company valuations, but I believe it could be significant….

Food Insecurity Is Associated With Higher Health Care Use And Costs Among Canadian Adults

ByThe Short Paper

Article The researchers looked at Canadian hospital and healthcare expenditure records. They looked at specific characteristics of patients specifically acute care hospitalization, same-day surgery, and acute care costs among Canadian adults. Patients who were more food insecure were more likely to be admitted for acute care as well as having surgery. They  found that patients…

Infants with big appetites: The role of a nonfood environment on infant appetitive traits linked to obesity

ByThe Short Paper

Article The researchers looked at the literature and found that infants between the ages of 9-18 months were influenced by food focused activities as well as non-food activities. These activities could help influence whether the infants would possibly become obese in the future. They suggested developing fun non-food focused activities (playing with bubbles, musical instruments) mitigated…

Single-Dose Psilocybin Treatment for Major Depressive Disorder

ByThe Short Paper

One-time psilocybin treatment for depression A study investigated the effectiveness and safety of psilocybin, a compound found in certain mushrooms, for treating major depressive disorder. In a controlled trial with 104 adults, a 25-mg dose of psilocybin, when combined with psychological support, resulted in a significant and enduring improvement in depressive symptoms compared to a…

Second-Best Fairness: The Trade-off between False Positives and False Negatives

ByThe Short Paper

In economics, a key question is how to create effective policies when things aren’t perfect. This often means balancing between helping some who may not entirely deserve it (false positives) and not helping others who may deserve it (false negatives). This study, conducted in the United States and Norway through large-scale experiments, reveals that most…

Unlocking Cancer Treatment Potential with CD300ld Molecule

ByThe Short Paper

CD300ld on neutrophils is required for tumour-driven immune suppression In cancer, the immune system often gets suppressed, making it hard to treat. Scientists have found a molecule called CD300ld that is important for this suppression. When they blocked CD300ld in mice with tumors, it made the tumors shrink and improved the immune system’s ability to…