Energy poverty and obesity

Obesity is a major health concern in both developed and developing nations. Yet, evidence on the determinants of obesity is relatively limited. We contribute to the literature on the determinants of obesity by empirically examining the effects of energy poverty on obesity. Using 14 waves of the Household, Income and Labour Dy-namics in Australia (HILDA) survey, we find energy poverty is positively associated with obesity. Applying linear probability model, our estimates suggest that being energy poor results between 1.4 and 2.5 percentage points increase in the probability of being obese, depending on how energy poverty is measured. Our results are robust to alternative modelling techniques, inclusion of additional control variables and potential influence of unob-servable. We also find that amount of sleep, health status and level of psychological distress are important transmission channels through which energy poverty influences the probability of being obese.

Automated summary

This study empirically examines the association between energy poverty and obesity using data from Australia. The findings suggest that energy poverty is positively associated with obesity. In addition, the study identifies sleep duration, health status, and psychological distress as important channels through which energy poverty influences the likelihood of being obese.