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Abstract

Childhood obesity rates have recently been rising in many countries. It has been suggested in the literature that changes in children’s media exposure may contribute to explaining this trend. I investigate whether or not this hypothesis is supported by data. I contribute to the literature by focusing not only on television but also on new media – computers and video games. The Child Development Supplement to the Panel Study of Income Dynamics is used for the analysis. To address the endogeneity of children’s media exposure, I use dynamic and panel data models. This is another improvement upon the existing literature. Additionally, an extensive list of control variables is included in the regressions. I find that video game playing or computer use has no effect on children’s body weight. On the other hand, television viewing may increase children’s body weight slightly.

Publication Type:	Article
Additional Information:	This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Applied Economics on 6 Dec 2014, available online: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00036846.2014.987916
Publisher Keywords:	obesity, body weight, media, children
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HB Economic Theory R Medicine > RJ Pediatrics > RJ101 Child Health. Child health services
Departments:	School of Policy & Global Affairs > Economics
SWORD Depositor:	Symplectic Administrator

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