Spatial spillovers, living environment and obesity in France: Evidence from a spatial econometric framework

Céline Bonnet (1) , Cécile Détang-Dessendre (2) , Valérie Orozco (1) , Elodie Rouviere (3)

1 TSE-R - Toulouse School of Economics
2 CESAER - Centre d'Economie et de Sociologie Rurales Appliquées à l'Agriculture et aux Espaces Ruraux
3 SADAPT - Sciences pour l'Action et le Développement : Activités, Produits, Territoires

In 2019, obesity affected 17% of French adults. In this article, we use a unique data set that combines individual-level health and consumption data with living environment data (food, sports and health amenities). We develop a spatial econometric framework to address French health disparities in obesity prevalence across space. We find that regulations on fast food restaurant locations could be a policy instrument to counter the prevalence of obesity. We also establish the existence of spatial spillovers of sports and medical amenities on obesity. This new evidence points to the need to consider a wider context than just the immediate local environment in the fight against the obesity pandemic.

Mots clés: Health inequalities; Spatial patterns; Living environment

Domaines: Economies et finances; Sciences du Vivant [q-bio]

Céline Bonnet, Cécile Détang-Dessendre, Valérie Orozco, Elodie Rouviere. Spatial spillovers, living environment and obesity in France: Evidence from a spatial econometric framework. Social science & medicine, 2022, 305, pp.114999. ⟨10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.114999⟩. ⟨hal-03672491⟩