Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rcrh6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-22T18:13:31.406Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Access to Local Agriculture and Weight Outcomes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 September 2016

Joshua P. Berning*
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of Connecticut, in Storrs, Connecticut
Get access

Abstract

Recent studies examine the impact of the built environment on health outcomes such as obesity. Several studies find for certain populations that access to unhealthy food has a positive effect on obesity, whereas access to healthy choices has a negative effect. Given the growth and popularity of locally grown food, we examine how individual weight outcomes are affected by access to direct-to-consumer local food. After controlling for potential endogeneity, we find that greater access to local food has a negative association with individual weight outcomes. We also find a negative association with greater weight loss over a one-year period. These results provide evidence that local food access can have potential indirect benefits.

Type
Contributed Papers
Copyright
Copyright © 2012 Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Anderson, M.L., and Matsa, D.A. 2011. “Are Restaurants Really Supersizing America?American Economic Journal: Applied Economics 3(1): 152188.Google Scholar
Bader, M.D.M., Purciel, M., Yousefzadeh, P., and Neckerman, K.M. 2010. “Disparities in Neighborhood Food Environments: Implications of Measurement Strategies.Economic Geography 86(4): 409430.Google Scholar
Born, B., and Purcell, M. 2006. “Avoiding the Local Trap: Scale and Food Systems in Planning Research.Journal of Planning Education and Research 26(2): 195207.Google Scholar
Brown, C., and Miller, S. 2008. “The Impacts of Local Markets: A Review of Research on Farmers Markets and Community Supported Agriculture (CSA).American Journal of Agricultural Economics 90(5): 12961302.Google Scholar
Brown, W., Williams, L., Ford, J.H., Ball, K., and Dobson, A.J. 2005. “Identifying the Energy Gap: Magnitude and Determinants of 5-Year Weight Gain in Midage Women.Obesity Research 13(8): 14311441.Google Scholar
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). “Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Survey Data.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Atlanta, GA.Google Scholar
Chou, S., Grossman, M., and Saffer, H. 2004. “An Economic Analysis of Adult Obesity: Results from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.Journal of Health Economics 23(3): 565587.Google Scholar
Cragg, J.G., and Donald, S.G. 1993. “Testing Identifiability and Specification in Instrumental Variable Models.Econometric Theory 9(2): 222240.Google Scholar
Currie, J., Della Vigna, S., Moretti, E., and Pathania, V. 2010. “The Effect of Fast Food Restaurants on Obesity and Weight Gain.American Economic Journal: Economic Policy 2(3): 3263.Google Scholar
Darby, K., Batte, M.T., Ernst, S., and Roe, B. 2008. “Decomposing Local: A Conjoint Analysis of Locally Produced Foods.American Journal of Agricultural Economics 90(2): 476486.Google Scholar
Dunn, R.A. 2010. “The Effect of Fast-Food Availability on Obesity: An Analysis by Gender, Race, and Residential Location.American Journal of Agricultural Economics 92(4): 11491164.Google Scholar
Dunn, R.A., Sharkey, J.R., and Horel, S. 2012. “The Effect of Fast-Food Availability on Fast-Food Consumption and Obesity Among Rural Residents: An Analysis by Race/Ethnicity.Economics and Human Biology 10(1): 113.Google Scholar
Eid, J., Overman, H.G., Puga, D., and Turner, M.A. 2008. “Fat City: Questioning the Relationship Between Urban Sprawl and Obesity.Journal of Urban Economics 63(2): 385404.Google Scholar
Farnsworth, R.L., Thompson, S.R., Drury, K., and Warner, R.E. 1996. “Community Supported Agriculture: Filling a Niche Market.Journal of Food Distribution Research 27(1): 9098.Google Scholar
Kleibergen, F., and Paap, R. 2006. “Generalized Reduced Rank Tests Using the Singular Value Decomposition.Journal of Econometrics 133(1): 97126.Google Scholar
Low, S.A., and Vogel, S. 2011. “Direct and Intermediated Marketing of Local Foods in the United States.” Economic Research Report No. 128, Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C.Google Scholar
Morland, K., Diez Roux, A.V., and Wing, S. 2006. “Supermarkets, Other Food Stores, and Obesity: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study.American Journal of Preventive Medicine 30(4): 333339.Google Scholar
Morland, K., Wing, S., and Roux, A.D. 2002. “The Contextual Effect of the Local Food Environment on Residents’ Diets: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study.American Journal of Public Health 92(11): 17611767.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Plantinga, A.J., and Bernell, S. 2007. “The Association Between Urban Sprawl and Obesity: Is It a Two-Way Street?Journal of Regional Science 47(5): 857879.Google Scholar
Ragland, E., and Tropp, D. 2009. “USDA National Farmers Market Manager Survey 2006.Agricultural Marketing Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C. Google Scholar
Salois, M.J. 2012. “Obesity and Diabetes, the Built Environment, and the ‘Local’ Food Economy in the United States, 2007.Economics and Human Biology 10(1): 3542.Google Scholar
Thompson, C.J., and Coskuner-Balli, G. 2007. “Enchanting Ethical Consumerism: The Case of Community Supported Agriculture.Journal of Consumer Culture 7(3): 275303.Google Scholar
Williams, P.T. 1997. “Evidence for the Incompatibility of Age-Neutral Overweight and Age-Neutral Physical Activity Standards from Runners.American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 65(5): 13911396.Google Scholar
Zhao, Z., and Kaestner, R. 2010. “Effects of Urban Sprawl on Obesity.Journal of Health Economics 29(6): 779787.Google Scholar