Maoyong Fan

Do Food Stamps Contribute to Obesity in Low-Income Women? Evidence from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979

Does the Food Stamp Program (FSP), which provides in-kind transfers to low- income Americans, cause female participants to become obese? This question is particularly important because participants are substantially more likely to be obese than are nonparticipants. This paper estimates the effects of food stamp benefits on obesity, overweight and body mass index (BMI) of low-income women. Contrary to previous results, we find little evidence that the FSP causes obesity, overweight or higher BMI. Our analysis differs from previous research in three aspects. First, we exploit a rich longitudinal data set, the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979, to distinguish between full-time and part- time participation. Second, instead of making parametric assumptions on outcomes, we employ a variety of difference-in-difference matching estimators to control for selection bias. Third, we estimate both short-term (one-year participation) and long-term (three-year participation) treatment effects. Empirical results show that after controlling for selection bias and defining the treatment and comparison groups carefully, there is little evidence that food stamps are responsible for higher BMI or obesity in female participants. Our estimates are robust to different definitions of the treatment and comparison groups, and to various matching algorithms.

Overweight Misperception among Adolescents in the United States.

The purpose of this study was to examine the discrepancies between perceived and reported overweight status among U.S. adolescents (n>70,000), and to identify factors contributing to such discrepancies. We used the YRBSS data (years 2001-2009) and found statistically significant, gender and race specific discrepancies between perceived and reported overweight status. Factors such as BMI, school performance, and being sexually active are additional predictors of overweight misperception. The findings suggest that evidence based strategies should be employed to help adolescents establish correct weight perception. These strategies should also be tailored based on gender, race, and weight perception of target audience.

Do Neighborhood Parks and Playgrounds Reduce Childhood Obesity

Promoting physical activity in children is an important front battling Childhood obesity. This paper investigates if and by how much neighborhood parks and playgrounds, one of the most important activity-enhancing neighborhood facilities, affect childhood obesity. We employ a covariate matching technique to analyze the 2007 National Survey of Children Health data. We find that neighborhood parks and playgrounds make children more fit. The reduction in body mass index (BMI) as well as the overweight or obesity risk is both statistically and economically significant. We also find that the park impact depends on gender, age, race, income, neighborhood safety, and other neighborhood amenities. The results suggest that a provision of neighborhood parks and playgrounds is likely to make children more fit, but relevant interventions need to take socioeconomic status of the targeted children population as well as other neighborhood amenities into consideration.

The Effects of Weight Perception on Adolescents' Weight-Loss Intentions and Behaviors: Evidence from the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey.

The objective of this study was to examine the correlation between self-perception of being overweight and weight loss intentions, eating and exercise behaviors, as well as extreme weight-loss strategies for U.S. adolescents. This study uses 50,241 observations from the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey (YRBSS) 2001–2009, which were nationally representative sample of 9th- through 12th-grade students in both public and private schools in the US. This study finds that, irrespective of the weight status base on self-reported weight and height, adolescents who perceive themselves as overweight have a stronger intention to lose weight, but do not develop better eating and exercise habits, compared with their counterparts of same gender and reported weight status. Normal-weight adolescents, if they perceive themselves as overweight, are more likely to engage in health-compromising weight-loss methods. This study shows that it is critical to transform weight-loss intentions into actual behaviors among overweight/obese adolescents and improve the efficacy of behavioral interventions against childhood obesity. It also highlights the need of establishing a correct perception of body weight among normal weight adolescents to curb extreme weight-loss methods.

Effects of the Great Recession on the U.S. Agricultural Labor Market

We empirically test four hypotheses regarding differences between agricultural worker earnings (wages and bonuses) during recession and non-recessionary times, between agricultural worker time use during recession and non-recession times, between outcomes for undocumented and documented workers, and between outcomes for agricultural workers versus those working in other sectors of interest. Regression analyses show that the wages of documented (legal) seasonal agricultural workers increased more during the last three recessions than did the wages of undocumented agricultural workers and low-skilled nonagricultural workers. Bonus pay and weekly hours also increased for some workers, suggesting general increases in the financial wellbeing of employed agricultural workers during recessions.