Family Size, Household Wealth and Socio-economic Status Across the Body Mass Index Distribution During US Economic Development

Abstract

Households behave systematically in family planning and intra-household resource allocation. A neglected area in historical health studies is the relationship between body mass index (BMI), health and family size. Using robust statistics and a large nineteenth-century BMI data set, this study uses an overlapping generations model to explain resource allocation within the household and illustrates that there is a positive relationship across the BMI distribution with family size. There is also a positive relationship between BMIs and average wealth, and an inverse relationship between BMI and inequality. After controlling for family size and wealth characteristics, there was a positive relationship between BMI and worker’s agricultural rural status. JEL: N3, D1, I1