Obesity among Poor Americans

Patricia K. Smith

Description

Obesity costs our society billions of dollars a year in lost productivity and medical expenses, roughly half of which the federal government pays through Medicare and Medicaid. We know obesity plagues the poor more than the non-poor and poor women more than poor men. Poor women make up the majority of adult welfare recipients--coincidence or causal connection?

This book investigates the controversial claim by welfare critics that public assistance programs like Food Stamps and the National School Lunch programs contribute to obesity among the poor. The author synthesizes empirical evidence from an array of disciplines--anthropology, economics, epidemiology, medicine, nutrition science, marketing, psychology, public health, sociology, and urban planning--to test this claim and to test whether other causal processes are at work.

With a lucid presentation that makes it a model for applying research to questions of social policy, the book lays out the different hypotheses and the possible causal pathways within each. The four central chapters test whether "public assistance causes obesity," "obesity causes public assistance," "poverty causes both public assistance and obesity," and "Factor X causes both." The factors in the last category that may relate to both public assistance and obesity include stress, disability, and physical abuse.

Sujets

• Political Science
• Social Science
• Sociologie, société et politique
• Sociology
• Economics

Informations

• Publié par: Vanderbilt University Press
• Date de parution: 10 juillet 2009
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780826516374
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

OBESITY AMONG POOR AMERICANS IS PUBLIC ASSISTANCE THE PROBLEM ?

PATRICIA K. SMITH

Obesity among Poor Americans

Obesity among Poor Americans

Is Public Assistance the Problem?

PàtrIcIà K. ŚmItH

àNdErbILt UNIVErSIty PrESS nashville

© 2009 by àNdErbILt UNIVErSIty PrESS àSHVILLE, TENNESSEE 37235 ALL rIgHtS rESErVEd

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IS book IS prINtEd oN àcId-frEE pàpEr màdE from 30 pErcENt poSt-coNSumEr rEcycLEd coNtENt. MàNufàcturEd IN tHE UNItEd ŚtàtES of AmErIcà

Ibràry of CoNgrESS CàtàLogINg-IN-PubLIcàtIoN Dàtà ŚmItH, PàtrIcIà K. (PàtrIcIà Kày), 1959– ObESIty àmoNg poor AmErIcàNS : IS pubLIc àSSIStàNcE tHE probLEm? / PàtrIcIà K. ŚmItH. p. ; cm. ïNcLudES bIbLIogràpHIcàL rEfErENcES àNd INdEx. ïŚB 978-0-8265-1635-0 (cLotH : àLk. pàpEr) ïŚB 978-0-8265-1636-7 (pbk. : àLk. pàpEr) 1. ObESIty—UNItEd ŚtàtES—ÉtIoLogy. 2. ObESIty— ŚocIàL àSpEctS—UNItEd ŚtàtES. 3. PoVErty—EàLtH àSpEctS—UNItEd ŚtàtES. 4. PubLIc wELfàrE—UNItEd ŚtàtES. ï. TItLE. [DM: 1. ObESIty—EtIoLogy—UNItEd ŚtàtES. 2. PoVErty—UNItEd ŚtàtES. 3. PubLIc ASSIStàNcE— UNItEd ŚtàtES. WD 210 Ś656o 2009] RC628.Ś6415 2009 362.196’3980086942—dc22 2008024088

To my parents,

who provided a healthy

and loving environment

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Contents

AckNowLEdgmENtS Ix

ïNtroductIoN 1

TrENdS IN ObESIty, PoVErty, àNd PubLIc ASSIStàNcE 9

E “PubLIc ASSIStàNcE CàuSES ObESIty” ypotHESIS 23

E “ObESIty CàuSES PubLIc ASSIStàNcE” ypotHESIS 49

E “PoVErty CàuSES BotH PubLIc ASSIStàNcE àNd ObESIty” ypotHESIS 70

E “Fàctor X CàuSES BotH PubLIc ASSIStàNcE àNd ObESIty” ypotHESIS 115

CommoN rEàdS àNd CoNcLuSIoNS 128

otES 139

REfErENcES 143

ïNdEx 189

Acknowledgments

My fàmILy, ESpEcIàLLy my HuSbàNd, RIcHàrd, HàS gIVEN mE grEàt ENcouràgEmENt IN wrItINg tHIS book. My wrItINg group (CàroLyN KràuS, orà EmpErt, MàurEEN INkEr, àNd JàckIE àNSàNt) àNd my coLLEàguE MIcHàEL TwomEy proVIdEd INVàLuàbLE HELp by dILIgENtLy rEàdINg àNd crItIquINg VàrIouS VErSIoNS of SEVEràL cHàptErS. E CoLLEgE of ArtS, ŚcIENcES, àNd EttErS àt tHE UNIVErSIty of MIcHIgàN–DEàrborN SupportEd tHIS rESEàrcH wItH à courSE rELEàSE, wHIcH IS tHE oNLy îNàNcIàL Support ï rEcEIVEd for tHIS projEct. My tEàcHErS IN tHE pubLIc ScHooLS of CàSpEr, WyomINg, àNd àt tHE UNIVErSIty of WyomINg proVIdEd tHE EducàtIoNàL fouNdàtIoN, INtELLEctuàL guIdàNcE, àNd ENcouràgEmENt NEcESSàry for mE to SuccESSfuLLy purSuE àN àcàdEmIc càrEEr. àNk you àLL.