Economic insecurity boosts obesity

Study suggests economic insecurity boosts obesity

Comment from AMICOR: another hypothesis to be contemplated may be some archetype genee from time was famine periods were frequent and economic insecurity in addition to the stress edocrine mechanism.

By Kate Kelland

LONDON | Fri Jan 7, 2011 9:42am EST

(Reuters Life!) - The stress of being exposed to economic insecurity may mean people living in countries with so-called "free market" economies are more likely to become obese, British researchers said on Friday.

In a study in the journal Economics and Human Biology, Oxford University researchers found that Americans and Britons are much more likely to be obese than Norwegians and Swedes, and suggested that the stress of life in a competitive social system without a strong welfare state may cause people to overeat.

"Policies to reduce levels of obesity tend to focus on encouraging people to look after themselves, but this study suggests that obesity has larger social causes," said Avner Offer, a professor of economic history who led the study/.../