Mosca, Irene
(2013)
Body mass index, waist circumference and employment:
Evidence from older Irish adults.
Economics and Human Biology, 11 (44).
pp. 522-533.
ISSN 1570-677X
Abstract
Data from the first wave of the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing are used to examine
the relationship between fatness and obesity and employment status among older Irish
adults. Employment status is regressed on one of the following measures of fatness: BMI and
waist circumference entered linearly as continuous variables and obesity as a categorical
variable defined using both BMI and waist circumference. Controls for demographic and
socioeconomic characteristics, socioeconomic characteristics in childhood and physical,
mental and behavioural health are also included. The regression results for women indicate
that all measures of fatness are negatively associated with the probability of being employed
and that the employment elasticity associated with waist circumference is larger than the
elasticity associated with BMI. The results for men indicate that employment is not
significantly associated with BMI and waist circumference when these are entered linearly in
the regression, but it is significantly and negatively associated with obesity defined either
using BMI or waist circumference as categorical variables. The results also indicate that the
negative association between obesity and employment status is larger among women. For
example, the probability of being employed for the obese category defined using BMI is
around 8 percentage points lower for women and 5 percentage points lower for men.
| Item Type: |
Article
|
| Keywords: |
BMI;
Waist circumference;
Employment;
Older;
Ireland; Demographic Economics; Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure; Labor Demand; |
| Academic Unit: |
Faculty of Social Sciences > Economics, Finance and Accounting |
| Item ID: |
11379 |
| Identification Number: |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ehb.2013.05.002 |
| Depositing User: |
Irene Mosca
|
| Date Deposited: |
18 Oct 2019 09:54 |
| Journal or Publication Title: |
Economics and Human Biology |
| Publisher: |
Elsevier |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| URI: |
|
| Use Licence: |
This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available
here |
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