What is driving global obesity trends? Globalization or "modernization"?

Area of Science:

• Global Health
• Sociology
• Economics

Background:

• Worldwide obesity has more than doubled since 1980, prompting research into its causes.
• Explanations range from globalization (dependency/world systems theory) to domestic factors (modernization theory).
• Globalization's role is debated, with some theories suggesting it increases obesity through cheap, unhealthy food and fast-food outlets.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the influence of economic globalization versus domestic economic and social development on global weight gain.
• To determine the extent to which globalization processes drive rising global overweight/obesity rates compared to domestic development.

Main Methods:

• Panel dataset of mean body weight for 190 countries from 1980-2008.
• Two-way fixed-effects Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression analysis.
• Examination of factors including GDP per capita, urbanization, women's empowerment, and globalization indices.

Main Results:

• Domestic factors like increasing GDP per capita, urbanization, and women's empowerment were associated with increased mean Body Mass Index (BMI).
• A curvilinear relationship was observed: economic growth increased BMI in low-income countries but decreased it in high-income countries.
• Economic globalization did not significantly predict increases in mean BMI; cultural globalization had mixed effects.

Conclusions:

• Rising global overweight and obesity are primarily driven by domestic processes such as economic development, urbanization, and women's empowerment.
• The negative health impacts of global trade regimes may be overstated, as external globalization processes showed less clear negative associations with BMI.
• Policy interventions should consider domestic development factors in addressing the global obesity epidemic.