Do Your Neighbors Influence Your Health?
- Presenter:
Chair: David Bradford; Discussant: TBA Tue June 6, 2006 8:00-9:30 Room 235
Recent trends in the U.S. suggest that the health of Americans is on the decline as measured by the increased percentage of obese and overweight individuals and their decreased physical activity. Several explanations for these trends have been put forth in both the theoretical and empirical literature. Hypotheses include technological change that makes production of food cheaper and time spent at work more sedentary, the rise in the number of restaurants, addiction to calories, reduction in smoking, changes in rates of time preference, urban sprawl and the increased reliance on automobiles. The role of social norms on health has also been discussed as a possible factor affecting weight, mostly in a theoretical context.
Social norms matter when it comes to relative comparisons of income, savings, consumption, or happiness as suggested by several studies. However, less has been done to examine such relative comparisons of healthiness. We examine whether, and in what direction, social norms influence one’s relative healthiness. For example, observing a larger number of overweight or obese individuals may provide comfort or acceptance of that level of health for an individual. Alternatively, it may be provide the impetus for an individual to maintain a healthier weight.
Using the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), we empirically examine the relationship between healthiness and social norms. Health is measured in terms of weight (body mass index), self-reported health, and time spent at leisure healthy activities. Measures of health social norms are constructed from the health information of others in the local geographic region around a given individual. The standard complement of socio-demographic and economic controls for individual characteristics is also included.
If public health officials and policymakers believe there is a role for public policy in improving the health via decreased obesity and increased exercise of individuals, then it is critical to know how social norms influence the weight and physical activity of an individual. Preliminary results suggest that, indeed, social norms matter. If one is surrounded by others with high BMIs, then that increases one’s own weight. Similar results are found with regard to physical activity; the more (less) you see your neighbors engage in exercise, the more (less) you exercise. It appears that when individuals make comparisons of outwardly visible indicators of health, “peer effects” act as a negative force on health whereby an individual feels comfort that he is one among many overweight individuals. Thus, for any policy to be effective at improving health, it must target not just the individual but the entire community.
