Does daylight savings time encourage physical activity?

pre-printBackground: Extending Daylight Savings Time (DST) has been identified as a policy intervention that may encourage physical activity. However, there has been little research on the question of if DST encourages adults to be more physically active. Methods: Data from residents of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah ages 18-64 who participated in the 2003-2009 American Time Use Survey are used to assess whether DST is associated with increased time spent in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). The analysis capitalizes on the natural experiment created because Arizona does not observe DST. Results: Both bivariate and multivariate analyses indicate that shifting 1 hour of daylight from morning to evening does not impact MVPA of Americans living in the southwest. Conclusions: While DST may affect the choices people make about the timing and location of their sports/recreational activities, the potential for DST to serve as a broad-based intervention that encourages greater sports/recreation participation is not supported by this analysis. Whether this null effect would persist in other climate situations is an open question

Physical activity during the transition from adolescence to adulthood

Working PaperBackground: We examine how age, life course roles, and contextual variables relate to both the composition and the overall level of physical activity in late adolescence and early adulthood. Methods: Data on 15-29 year old respondents in the 2003 American Time Use Survey are used to estimate multivariate logistic regressions that assess what factors are associated with meeting the recommended level of physical activity. Results: The proportion of respondents who do 30 minutes or more of team sports declines over the 15-29 year age range even after controlling for life course and contextual covariates. Parenthood, employment status, and school enrollment have selective effects on the odds of meeting physical activity recommendations. Conclusions: Given the declines in team sports activities, schools and public health officials should consider the potential benefits of promoting other options such as cardiovascular activities, strength training activities, and/or active transportation options

Over-scheduled or at loose ends? The shifting balance of adolescent time use

Working PaperLittle is known about the time use of American youth. In this study, time diary data from 1977-78 and 2003-05 are used to investigate time use in middle adolescence with the goals of ascertaining (1) changes in time use, (2) how socioeconomic and familial factors influence adolescent time allocation, and (3) the extent to which the mix of leisure undertaken by today's adolescents reflect a choice set that favors positive developmental experiences. The results suggest that over the past few decades, adolescents have substantially reduced their paid employment time while simultaneously increasing the time they spend in leisure. Adolescents' declining real wage rates appear to have contributed to this shift. In 2003-05, adolescents averaged over six hours per day in leisure activities with approximately two-thirds of their leisure time spent in passive activities and less than one-third spent in leisure pursuits that have a high probability of promoting personal growth

Human Capital Investments in Children: A Comparative Analysis of the Role of Parent-Child Shared Time in Selected Countries

Parents invest in their children's human capital in several ways. We investigate the extent to which the levels and composition of parent-child time varies across countries with different welfare regimes: Finland, Germany and the United States. We test the hypothesis of parent-child time as a form of human capital investment in children using a propensity score treatment effects approach that accounts for the possible endogenous nature of time use and human capital investment. Result: There is considerable evidence of welfare regime effects on parent-child shared time. Our results provide mixed support for the hypothesis that non-care related parent-child time is human capital enriching. The strongest support is found in the case of leisure time and eating time.parent-child time, comparative research, welfare regimes, Finland, Germany, USA, treatment effects, propensity score matching

Does the teaching of home economics skills have an economic payoff? The case of clothing construction

Journal ArticleIn recent years secondary schools have begun to view their home economics programs as an increasing marginal portion of their overall curricula. Because no payments are made for goods produced at home, gauging the economic value of taking a home economics class has been difficult for students, parents, and administrators. This paper illustrates the use of two frequently proposed valuation techniques to assess the economic gains of taking a home economics course. In the calculations, specific reference is given to the case of clothing construction. Implications for school resource allocations and curriculum development are discussed

Evaluating the Impact of Financial Planners

The growing complexity of investment decision-making has increased the potential value of advice from a financial professional. Past research provides only a very partial answer to the question of whether professional financial advice leads to better investment practices and results. In this chapter, we review findings in the existing research literature, detail ‘best practice’ research approaches for drawing confident conclusions regarding causal influences, and provide an example of such an approach using data from the 2007 Survey of Consumer Finances. Our results suggest that the benefits of financial advice may be overstated in the absence of methodological rigor

Review of the economics of family time use

Journal ArticleTime is a limited resource. Yet, it is also the one resource with which all individuals are equally endowed on any given day. Why then is there such wide variation in how each of us chooses to use that time? What factors guide our decisions about time spent working versus time spent with family and friends? Why is it that activity patterns vary by gender, education level, and life cycle stage? In this essay, we review the economic model of household production that has been applied to investigations of family time use and summarize the insights that have been gained from the empirical tests of this model

Household food expenditure patterns: a cluster analysis

Journal ArticleThe 2001 report titled "The Surgeon General's Call to Action to Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity" identified overweight and obesity as major public health problems, costing U.S. society as much as $117 billion a year and posing as great a threat of death as poverty, smoking, or problem drinking.1 As a first step in screening for overweight and obesity, "Body Mass Index" (BMI) is calculated using a person's weight and height, and this number is viewed as being a reliable indicator of body fat for most people.

Trends in Americans food-related time use: 1975-2006

Journal ArticleObjective: To describe how the time spent in food-related activities by Americans has changed over the past 30 years. Design: Data from four national time diary surveys, spanning 1975-2006, are used to construct estimates of trends in American adults' time spent in food-related activities. Multivariate Tobits assess how food-related activities have changed over time controlling for sociodemographic and economic covariates. Results: Both bivariate and multivariate estimates reveal that between 1975 and 2006, American women's time spent in food preparation declined substantially, whereas the time spent in these activities by American men changed very little. On the contrary, grocery shopping time increased modestly for both men and women. The primary eating time (i.e. time when eating/drinking was the respondent's main focus) declined for both men and women over this historical period, and the composition of this time changed with less primary eating time being done alone. Concurrently, secondary eating time (i.e. time when something else had the respondent's primary attention, but eating/drinking simultaneously occurred) rose precipitously for both women and men between 1975 and 1998. Conclusions: The total time spent in eating (i.e. primary plus secondary eating time) has increased over the past 30 years, and the composition of this time has shifted from situations in which energy intake can be easily monitored to those in which energy intake may be more difficult to gauge. Less time is also being spent in food preparation and clean-up activities. Future research should explore possible links between these trends and Americans' growing obesity risk