Does economic insecurity cause weight gain among Canadian labor force articipants?
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Economic Insecurity and Weight Gain Introduction Since the 1980s Canada has witnessed an increase in the rise of obesity The Canadian Community Health Survey argues that an estimate of 25 of the adults in Canada was obese in 2008 which was a significant rise since the rate was at 15 in the year 1989 There is an emergence of a hypothesis in the social science literature which suggests that obesity in the Northern American area can be attributed to the regions economic insecurity On this note the term economic insecurity is used to refer to matters such as the possibility of a significant drop of income andor the loss of jobs This paper will present a critique on Barry Watsons article to show whether economic insecurity causes people to gain weight among the participants in the Canadian labor force or not Causes of Obesity People consume comfort foods to reduce feelings which emanate from stress or stressful conditions Economic and social pressure makes people to consume comfort foods that in turn make them feel comforted In reference to economic insecurity either people can lose their jobs or their income could reduce This would lead to people having stress because their ability to provide for their daily needs and expenses will reduce This translates to the fact that they would have to forego some of the things or luxury they were used to and their families would have to conform to the new ways Such circumstances would lead to elevated levels of stress and over eating whereby the affected parties could result to consuming comfort foods Such foods are usually full of calories and unhealthy sugars which make individuals to gain weight for extended periods Hence some people can be directly affected by economic insecurity as they would consume unhealthy food which would consequently negatively affect their health Economic insecurity also leads to an individuals change in dietary composition For instance during the recession that took place in 2008 to 2009 people in America consumed more comfort food as compared to before the recession Some authors such as Watson assert that obesity is more pervasive among people who have low incomes and those whose weight has been on the increase for the past two to three decades The author of the study has hypothesized that an increased probability of economically shocking times predicts an increase in a persons weight gain Analysis of Results and Methods The researchers use the instrumental variable approach also adperson specific fixed effects estimator is used in controlling the reverse causality With this it is deduced that there is enough proof to show that indeed economic insecurity is directly related to the increase in adult males probability of being obese The findings show that there was 1 increase in economic insecurity and this increase predicts a 010 point raise in the BMI of males who are from ages 25 to 64 As for the females who are of working age the link between body weight and insecurity in the economy was not significant in any way The researchers have to sufficiently correlate the instruments with endogenous variable to ensure that they are valid Several tests were carried out in a bid to ensure that the instruments are valid Validity of the instruments means that the results will be credible and valid as well It is worth noting that the result for the males who work may be significant on a statistical basis but the effect magnitude is significantly small Nevertheless the study analyzes the effects of an increase of economic insecurity on body weight The study does not analyze the possible forthcoming nature of economic insecurity Unlike the natural calamities that happen in peoples lives the happening of economic insecurity can be persistent for extended periods Therefore it is a possibility that the ones who experience economic insecurity for long periods could be subjected to more weight gain in comparison to what the study predicts Conclusion It is evident that people get obese because the increase in stress which is caused by economic insecurity makes them overeat After carrying out the research the results stipulated that the relation between the adult ...View the full answer
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