Adult BMI as a Health and Nutritional Inequality Measure: Applications at Macro and Micro Levels

B-Tier
Journal: World Development
Year: 2010
Volume: 38
Issue: 7
Pages: 1012-1023

Authors (3)

Molini, Vasco (World Bank) Nubé, Maarten (not in RePEc) van den Boom, Bart (not in RePEc)

Score contribution per author:

0.670 = (α=2.01 / 3 authors) × 1.0x B-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

Summary We explore the suitability of the adult Body Mass Index (BMI) to measure health and nutritional inequalities between and within households. The paper applies a macro analysis comparing female BMIs at the country level and a micro-analysis comparing females' and males' BMI in Vietnam. At macro level, we estimated an analogue of the Kuznets curve finding a U-shaped relation between development (Human Development Index) and health and nutritional inequality (female BMI). At micro level, we use the panel data characteristics of the Vietnam dataset and show how income improvements registered in the 1990s benefited males considerably more than females.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:eee:wdevel:v:38:y:2010:i:7:p:1012-1023
Journal Field
Development
Author Count
3
Added to Database
2026-01-26