Is Obesity as Dangerous to Your Wealth as to Your Health?

Abstract

Obesity is a growing public health issue, with a rising number of adults classified as overweight. Although medical research shows being overweight is dangerous to one’s health, this research, which investigates young, U.S. baby boomers from 1985 to 2000, finds it is also dangerous to one’s wealth. The net worth of the obese is roughly half that of those with normal body mass. As young baby boomers age, peak net worth slowly shifts toward those with lower mass. Boomers with a body mass index (BMI) of 22 in 1985 held the most net worth, but by 2000 the peak shifted to those with a BMI of 17. From 1985 to 2000, for every one-point BMI increase, net worth on average fell $1,000, holding other factors like income constant. Surprisingly, part of the reason BMI is inversely related to networth is because lighter people receive more inheritances than heavier individuals.

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