Institute of Agricultural Policy and Market Research, Justus Liebig University of Giessen, Senckenbergstrasse 3, D-35390 Giessen, Germany.
Econ Hum Biol. 2011 Mar;9(2):133-47. doi: 10.1016/j.ehb.2010.11.001. Epub 2010 Nov 19.
High BMI and obesity contribute to the Russian health crisis. Previous studies have shown that weight status varies along socioeconomic lines but remains largely unaffected by economic shocks over time. This study is the first that explicitly analyses the impact of food prices on adult BMI and obesity in the Russian Federation. Using panel data from the Russia Longitudinal Monitoring Survey from 1994 to 2005, that included 10,551 urban respondents over 18 years, a reduced form weight demand function is estimated. Controlling for individual heterogeneity by a fixed-effects model, price-weight elasticities are derived. The main result is that food prices are not the essential determinants of BMI and obesity in Russia. Elasticities of BMI with respect to single food prices are low and show absolute values smaller than 0.01. However, some products like chicken meat, milk, onions and butter show significant price effects on body mass. A 20% increase in the price of chicken meat would cause a reduction in body weight of 112 g on average. In contrast to the United States, it is mainly high-income households that show significant weight reactions to food prices in Russia. Separate regressions by gender showed significant effects of milk and butter prices on male BMI and of onion prices on female BMI. The risk of being obese is even less affected by price.
高体重指数（BMI）和肥胖是俄罗斯健康危机的主要原因。过往研究表明，体重状况会沿着社会经济线变化，但随时间推移，其基本不受经济冲击影响。本研究首次明确分析了食品价格对俄罗斯成年人 BMI 和肥胖的影响。该研究利用了 1994 年至 2005 年俄罗斯纵向监测调查的面板数据，该数据包含了 10551 名 18 岁以上的城市受访者，研究人员据此估计了简化形式的体重需求函数。通过固定效应模型控制个体异质性，得出了价格-体重弹性。主要结果表明，食品价格并不是俄罗斯 BMI 和肥胖的主要决定因素。BMI 对单一食品价格的弹性较低，绝对值小于 0.01。然而，一些产品，如鸡肉、牛奶、洋葱和黄油，对体重有显著的价格影响。鸡肉价格上涨 20%，平均体重会减轻 112 克。与美国不同的是，主要是高收入家庭对俄罗斯的食品价格有显著的体重反应。按性别进行的单独回归显示，牛奶和黄油价格对男性 BMI 有显著影响，洋葱价格对女性 BMI 有显著影响。肥胖的风险受价格影响更小。
