Economic analysis of the link between diet quality and health: Evidence from Kosovo

• Published in: Economics and human biology Vol. 27; no. Pt A; pp. 261 - 274
• Main Authors: Braha, Kushtrim, Cupák, Andrej, Pokrivčák, Ján, Qineti, Artan, Rizov, Marian
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 01.11.2017
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; BMI; Body Mass Index; Diet; Diet diversity; Diet quality; Female; Food security; Health; Health Status; Humans; Kosovo; Kosovo - epidemiology; Male; Middle Aged; Models, Econometric; Obesity - epidemiology; Socioeconomic Factors; Thinness - epidemiology; Young Adult; D12; Kosovo; D11; Diet diversity; Health; Food security; D13; I12; I15; Diet quality; BMI
• ISSN: 1570-677X; 1873-6130
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ehb.2017.08.003

•A theoretically motivated two-stage estimation strategy is employed to analyse diet diversity and its impact on BMI.•Economic and demographic factors drive the choice of balanced diets in a sample of Kosovar adults.•Diet diversity has a significant non-linear impact on underweight and obesity leading to healthier status.•Diverse, better quality diet should serve as a cornerstone for public health policy. We analyse the link between diet diversity, (which is a proxy of diet quality) and health outcomes measured by body-mass index (BMI) in a representative sample of Kosovar adults using household expenditure micro-data. Building on a household model of health production we devise a two-stage empirical strategy to estimate the determinants of diet diversity and its effect on BMI. Economic factors and demographic characteristics play an important role in the choice of balanced diets. Results from the BMI analysis support the hypothesis that diet diversity is associated with optimal BMI. One standard deviation increase in diet diversity leads to 2.3% increase in BMI of the underweight individuals and to 1.5% reduction in BMI of the obese individuals. The findings have important implications for food security policies aiming at enhancing the public health in Kosovo.