The value of normal body weight: evidence from Iceland

Tinna Laufey Ásgeirsdóttir; Arnar Buason; Brynja Jónbjarnardóttir; Þórhildur Ólafsdóttir

doi:10.1080/00036846.2020.1859450

The value of normal body weight: evidence from Iceland

Tinna Laufey Ásgeirsdóttir, Arnar Buason^*, Brynja Jónbjarnardóttir, Þórhildur Ólafsdóttir

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Calculations of societal costs of underweight, overweight and obesity have generally failed to include the value of the utility reductions, associated with deviations from normal weight. To remedy this, the monetary compensation needed to offset the welfare loss associated with being underweight, overweight, or obese, according to World Health Organizations standards, is estimated. For this purpose, the compensating income variation (CIV) method is applied to individual-level data from an Icelandic health and lifestyle survey carried out in 2007, 2009, 2012, and 2017. The results show that both males and females would on average be willing to pay a positive amount to move from obesity to normal weight, albeit a varying amount by income group. The CIV for moving from obesity to normal weight among males for the low-, medium-, and high-income groups are $18,022, $25,768, and $632,002 per year. In comparison the same results for females are $9,191, $16,239, and $95,494. However, only females show a positive willingness to pay for not being overweight. The CIV for overweight females for the three income groups is $3,608, $6,375, and $37,488 per year.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	2292-2304
Number of pages	13
Journal	Applied Economics
Volume	53
Issue number	20
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/00036846.2020.1859450
Publication status	Published - 21 Dec 2020

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The authors gratefully acknowledge financial support from The Icelandic Research Fund [grant number 184975-051] and the University of Iceland Research Fund. Thorhildur ?lafsdottir gratefully acknowledges post-doctoral funding from the Faculty of Business Administration at the University of Iceland. We also thank the Directorate of Health in Iceland for providing the data for this project.

Funding Information:
Thorhildur Ólafsdottir gratefully acknowledges post-doctoral funding from the Faculty of Business Administration at the University of Iceland. We also thank the Directorate of Health in Iceland for providing the data for this project.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Other keywords

body weight
Compensating income variation
happiness
value
willingness to pay

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10.1080/00036846.2020.1859450

Cite this

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title = "The value of normal body weight: evidence from Iceland",

abstract = "Calculations of societal costs of underweight, overweight and obesity have generally failed to include the value of the utility reductions, associated with deviations from normal weight. To remedy this, the monetary compensation needed to offset the welfare loss associated with being underweight, overweight, or obese, according to World Health Organizations standards, is estimated. For this purpose, the compensating income variation (CIV) method is applied to individual-level data from an Icelandic health and lifestyle survey carried out in 2007, 2009, 2012, and 2017. The results show that both males and females would on average be willing to pay a positive amount to move from obesity to normal weight, albeit a varying amount by income group. The CIV for moving from obesity to normal weight among males for the low-, medium-, and high-income groups are $18,022, $25,768, and $632,002 per year. In comparison the same results for females are $9,191, $16,239, and $95,494. However, only females show a positive willingness to pay for not being overweight. The CIV for overweight females for the three income groups is $3,608, $6,375, and $37,488 per year.",

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note = "Funding Information: The authors gratefully acknowledge financial support from The Icelandic Research Fund [grant number 184975-051] and the University of Iceland Research Fund. Thorhildur ?lafsdottir gratefully acknowledges post-doctoral funding from the Faculty of Business Administration at the University of Iceland. We also thank the Directorate of Health in Iceland for providing the data for this project. Funding Information: Thorhildur {\'O}lafsdottir gratefully acknowledges post-doctoral funding from the Faculty of Business Administration at the University of Iceland. We also thank the Directorate of Health in Iceland for providing the data for this project. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.",

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The value of normal body weight: evidence from Iceland

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Other keywords

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