Effect of Food and Beverage Prices on Children’s Weights

Effect of Food and Beverage Prices on Children’s Weights

by Minh Wendt & Jessica E. Todd
Paperback, 29 pages, 2011, $20.00
ISBN: 9781437988772

One factor that may be important in explaining rising childhood obesity is food prices. This report explores the effect of food prices on children’s Body Mass Index (BMI) using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-99 (ECLS-K) and the Quarterly Food-at-Home Price Database.

On average, higher prices for soda, 100 percent juices, starchy vegetables, and sweet snacks are associated with lower BMIs among children. In addition, lower prices for dark green vegetables and lowfat milk are associated with reduced BMI. The effect of subsidizing healthy food may be just as large as raising prices of less healthy foods. Charts and tables. This is a print on demand edition of an important, hard-to-find report.

Purchase this print-on-demand publication for $20.00:

New Government Report: Taxing Caloric Sweetened Beverages: Potential Effects on Beverage Consumption, Calorie Intake, and Obesity (ISBN: 9781437935931)

Taxing Caloric Sweetened Beverages: Potential Effects on Beverage Consumption, Calorie Intake, and Obesity (ISBN: 9781437935931)
By Travis A. Smith, Biing-Hwan Lin, Jonq-Ying Lee
(Paperback, 33 pages, 2010, $25.00)

Despite budget deficits and calls by health advocates, soda taxes have failed to pass recently in New York, Philadelphia, Vermont, Mississippi, Kansas and Alaska, the New York Times reports.

The link between high U.S. obesity rates and the over-consumption of added sugars, largely from sodas and fruit drinks, has prompted calls for a tax on caloric sweetened beverages (CSB). Faced with a tax, consumers may reduce consumption of these CSB and substitute non-taxed beverages, such as bottled water, juice, and milk.

A tax-induced 20% price increase on CSB could cause an average reduction of 3.8 pounds of body weight over a year, for adults and an average of 4.5 pounds over a year, for children.

Given these reductions in calorie consumption, results show an estimated decline in adult overweight prevalence and obesity prevalence, as well as the child at-risk-for-overweight prevalence and the overweight prevalence. Charts and tables.

Purchase this print-on-demand publication for $25.00: