| Once considered as a serious public health issue only in developed countries, now overweight and obesity have dramatically increased in low- and middle-income countries, especially in urban settings (WHO, 2008). The main purpose of this study is to explore the economic incentives for this rapid growth in obesity rates, by studying variations in obesity over time and across geographic regions in the United States. Although a number of researchers and policymakers have devoted significant resources to address the recent rapid rise in obesity in the United States, “the prevalence of overweight and obesity has increased sharply since the mid 1970s” (Centers for Disease Control, 2008) and most of this increase occurred in the 1980s and 1990s (Cutler, et al.,... |
