Eating out and eating right: Understanding the relationship between food consumption decision and education using comprehensive consumer level data

Abstract

The relation between education and health has been well established in the literature, especially as it pertains to chronic diseases like obesity. But, due to data limitations, most extant research lacks a direct explanation of unhealthy eating behaviour. The current study examines this relationship among a diverse set of compositional place indicators with direct measurement of healthy and unhealthy eating behaviour across census block groups in the United States. We empirically examine the relationships between education, obesity, and the number of patrons at healthy and unhealthy eating establishments in the United States. Results obtained through various alternative empirical models show the effect of education on unhealthy eating habits. People who reside in areas with low education show higher frequencies of unhealthy eating behaviours. We also found that the number of reviews is essential to both healthy and unhealthy restaurants. Furthermore, we observed a significant change in food choices on weekdays vs. weekends. On weekends, consumers are less sensitive about the price for both healthy and unhealthy restaurants. These results contribute to previous studies on the reduced health status in low-educated geographical locations. The results point to important policy implications for mitigating obesity and improving healthy eating by geographical variation