AN ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF HOUSEHOLD INCOME INEQUALITY AND BMI IN CHINA

Abstract

This paper explores the relationship between household income inequality at county level and Body Mass Index (BMI). The hypotheses associating BMI with income inequality are tested. Unlike most literature that found positive linear relationship between prevalence of overweight or obesity and household income inequality, by using a longitudinal data from China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) between 1991 and 2011, we find that BMI will first decrease with household income inequality and then increase at an increasing rate, which suggests that high inequality may speed up the possibility of being overweight and obese. Policy measures on controlling obesity should be directed towards reducing inequality.