Does Air Pollution Cause Obesity? New Evidence from China

The global obesity rate has risen at an alarming rate in recent decades, and “fatness” has become an increasingly serious public health problem. At the same time, the loss of working hours and increased medical costs caused by air pollution have a wide range of direct and indirect effects on the health of the population and the macroeconomy. Against this background, using data from the China Family Panel Survey (CFPS) and thermal inversion as instrumental variables, this study analyzes the effect of air pollution on the risk of obesity among residents. We employ a two-stage least squares method to identify the effects of air pollution on the risk of obesity. The findings indicate that for a 1 μg/m³ increase in the annual average PM2.5 concentration at the county level, the obesity level increases significantly by 0.0286. This result is credible after a series of robustness checks; male groups, less-educated groups, and rural residents are more sensitive to the negative effects of air pollution. Finally, policy suggestions are provided.