Product of our environment? Place effects on Body Mass Index

An under-explored aspect of body weight is the role that location plays in its determination. To address this evidence gap, this study uses a dynamic event study framework to examine how weight changes for people who change their location and, by extension, how much of the overall variation in weight can be explained by place-based versus individual factors. We then undertake a decomposition analysis on movers and non-movers to evaluate the role of place in differences in weight between groups of areas. We also model the effects of place on common behavioural correlates of weight. Using rich longitudinal survey data from Australia, we find a significant robust place effect on weight. Our event study shows that place is responsible for 15. 5% of the weight variation. We find similarly sized place effects when comparing different groups of areas in our decomposition exercise. Finally, we show that place exerts a strong influence, of around 50% in some cases, on food consumption.