Food Labels and Weight Loss: Evidence from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth

This study investigates the role of nutrition and ingredients information, included in the food labels, as useful tools for individuals who are trying to lose weight. This research has three objectives - examine personal characteristics as predictors of willingness to lose weight conditional on individual's current body mass index, investigate whether those who are trying to lose weight are more likely to read food labels to gather nutritional and ingredients information, and, analyze whether those who want to lose weight and read food labels have a greater propensity to lose weight. Estimates from random effects logistic regressions indicate higher usage of food labels by those who are trying to lose weight, irrespective of their current body mass index. There is also greater likelihood of weight loss in the user group. Future research entails use of more sophisticated econometric techniques to control for self-selection and endogeneity.Nutritional information, ingredient information, body mass index, panel data, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Spousal Risk Preferences and Household Investment Decisions

Most adults are married, plan for retirement with their spouse, and pool assets to a significant degree. How then are each individual’s risk preferences combined in choosing the portfolio that represents for them the optimal tradeoff between risk and return? There are two pathways through which marriage could amplify the expression of individual risk preferences at the household level. First, if people choose spouses in part based on their appetite for risk, or another characteristic correlated with risk tolerance, then there could be polarization of household level risk preferences towards extremes. Second, spouses may strategically adjust their decisions to compensate for their spouse’s preferences. Is an only mildly risk averse person that is married to someone that is nearly risk neutral motivated to choose a very low risk low return asset allocation to compensate for their spouse’s risky behavior? In this paper we explore the influence of marriage on the expression of individual risk preferences by examining both sorting in the marriage market and strategic decision making. Using data from the Health and Retirement Survey we find a positive correlation between the risk preferences of spouses. We also develop a theoretical model that determines optimal investment allocations conditional on own and spousal risk tolerance. Optimal asset allocations from this model are compared to a naïve model that only includes own risk tolerance. In related research the explanatory power of the naïve and spousal models are evaluated for prediction ability based on actual asset allocation decisions for couples using the HRS data.Households, Risk, Investing, Consumer/Household Economics,

Econometric Analysis of Rising Body Mass Index in the U.S.: 1996 versus 2002

Currently over 30% of American adults are obese, more than twice the percentage prevalent in 1980 (American Obesity Association). At the same time, almost 65% adult Americans are said to be overweight. Such high prevalence levels are a major public health concern. Both overweight and obesity are associated with increased health risk for chronic diseases such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, fatty liver disease and some forms of cancer. In this paper we explore the factors that contribute to increasing rates of obesity and overweight, and study the differences in years 1996 and 2002. We use a multilevel econometric approach to model the four classifications of body mass index (BMI) obese, overweight, healthy and underweight - as a function of individual characteristics, lifestyle indicators and external environment. The results are reasonably consistent within the two years and with findings from previous studies. However, three significant differences are found between the two years at the state-level. Two of them are completely new findings. Higher urban residency is associated with lower rates of overweight and obesity. On the other hand, higher participation in food-stamp programs in the more recent year is associated with increasing prevalence of obesity. Excise tax on cigarettes also has a positive association with obesity only. Previous studies have uses either per-capita sales of restaurants, or price of meals available in fast-food and full-service restaurants. We explored a new variable density of fast-food and full-service restaurants serving meals over a wide price range. Such a variable is used to not only capture the importance of difference between fast-food restaurants and full-service restaurants, but to also distinguish between the effects of lower-priced and higher-priced meals. We find that lower-priced food from fast-food restaurants has positive effect, and higher-priced food from full-service restaurants has negative effect. Three new individual-level lifestyle predictors have been added, and they all seem to be significant in explaining the weight outcomes. Inadequate consumption of fruits and vegetables, irregular or no exercise, and poor self-reported health status are all significantly associated with increasing rates of overweight and obesity.Health Economics and Policy,

Valuing Extension Programming at the County Level

Local governments must make difficult choices to provide funding for essential services. Determining where Extension programming fits in the continuum of services provided by local governments can be a challenge. We assessed the value Extension provides to a community by using a randomized survey and focus group interviews in a rural Washington county. The survey response rate was greater than 50%, and we found no nonresponder bias. The county\u27s residents indicated that they think Extension adds value to the community, that they are willing to pay for Extension services, and that they endorse the use of public dollars to support Extension

Estimating treatment effectiveness with sample selection

We consider a situation where treatment outcome is observed after two stages of selection; first of participation into the treatment, then in completion of the treatment. Estimates were obtained using two methods. First, three different binary response selection models were estimated sequentially in multiple steps. Second, all three equations were estimated jointly. All methods produce similar parameter estimates. We find evidence of selection effects from completion to outcome that could bias parameter estimates of the outcome equation, but not from participation to outcome, indicating that correcting only for participation may be insufficient to avoid biased estimates in the outcome equation.selection bias, trivariate probit, bivariate probit, treatment effects

Provisions of the Affordable Care Act and Washington's Health Insurance Exchange

The federal Affordable Healthcare Act is massive and complex. For Washington residents and employers who are looking for information or just want to get health insurance, this publication gives a very concise summary of the major parts of the ACA and of the timetable for when different parts kick in. It also explains what a state Health Insurance Exchange (HIE) is and how it works, as well as how to access Washington State's HIE, known as the Washington Healthplanfinder

Food Labels and Weight Loss: Evidence from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth

This study investigates the role of nutrition and ingredients information, included in the food labels, as useful tools for individuals who are trying to lose weight. This research has three objectives - examine personal characteristics as predictors of willingness to lose weight conditional on individual's current body mass index, investigate whether those who are trying to lose weight are more likely to read food labels to gather nutritional and ingredients information, and, analyze whether those who want to lose weight and read food labels have a greater propensity to lose weight. Estimates from random effects logistic regressions indicate higher usage of food labels by those who are trying to lose weight, irrespective of their current body mass index. There is also greater likelihood of weight loss in the user group. Future research entails use of more sophisticated econometric techniques to control for self-selection and endogeneity

Chronic conditions and hospitalizations : findings from a rural hospital

It is important to understand if current healthcare systems are utilizing hospital resources efficiently and cost-effectively, and whether patients are receiving appropriate care in a timely manner. One of the ways to achieve this goal is to reduce recurrent hospitalizations among patients with chronic conditions. I analyzed 2015–2016 inpatient admissions data from the Pullman Regional Hospital, located in the City of Pullman in Whitman County, which serves a large rural community to examine inpatient admissions related to chronic conditions. I found that chronic kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart failure, and hypertension are the most common chronic condition diagnoses during hospital admissions and 30-day readmissions

Medicaid’s Non-Emergency Medical Transportation: The Critical Role of Mobility Services in Accessing Behavioral and Preventive Health Care

Medicaid’s non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) facilitates free or low-cost transportation to and from medical appointments for enrollees who otherwise lack access to reliable and affordable transportation. The goal of this project is to examine changes in the costs and utilization of NEMT for accessing behavioral health services (including mental health and substance abuse treatment) and preventive services (including primary care and specialist visits) by residential locations of Medicaid beneficiaries since an improvement in the data collection system in Washington state in 2011. The system update was implemented following a federal audit, with the objectives of better service monitoring, understanding usage patterns, and improving overall program efficiency.US Department of Transportation Pacific Northwest Transportation Consortium Washington State Department of Transportation Washington State Universit