The effect of neighborhood quality on child overweight status

Abstract

Obesity is a growing problem in the United States today. This study provides an econometric analysis of the relationship between child overweight status and neighborhood quality by using nationally representative data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) the 2002 PSID Child Development Survey, and Census data. In this study, the probability of a child overweight status is modeled as a function of neighborhood quality, child age, race and ethnicity, and parent obesity status, income, marital status, and education level. Next, the possible endogeneity between neighborhood quality and parent health is controlled for. Auxiliary regressions, modeling neighborhood quality and parent health on factors such as parent income, education, and marital status, are used to generate predicted values for neighborhood quality and parent health, which are then substituted into the child overweight equation to control for the aforementioned endogeneity. Census track and county level factors that might affect parent health or neighborhood quality are also controlled for. Based on a sample of 1917 children, this study finds evidence that neighborhood quality affects child overweight status.