Economic Analysis Obesity

Patience Chinhondo

Rhonda Davis

English 291-009

09/12/14

The economic analysis of obesity

I chose to evaluate a chapter of a book written by Dr Tahere Alavi Hojjat. The book is to be published in 2015. The title of the chapter I chose to evaluate is The Economic Analysis of Obesity. Dr Tahereh, a professor of Business at DeSales University, Pennsylvania. The author is credible because she holds a Ph.D in Economics. The chapter looks at the causes or major contributors to the increasing number of obese people. The author concentrates on the economic factors contributing to obesity.

The chapter is written for economics scholars and other people who understand the basic economic terms. For example, the author states that, ”the
The author explains that most experts only look at other non economic factors that cause obesity. She wrote the chapter to convince the readers that economic factors contribute to a greater extent to the growing obesity numbers. The chapter is a continuing discussion. Although she asserts that obesity may be contributed by other factors ,she is strongly supporting her view that economic factors contribute more than other factors. The author specifically discusses the role of the government and technology in the price of food and consumption of different foods. She also discusses the relationship between poverty and obesity in the United States. For example,” poverty has become more obvious and complex: being poor in one of the poorest countries may be associated with poor nutrition, while being poor in a developed country could mean a higher risk of obesity,”, Dr Hojjat
The author’s supporting evidence is from credible sources, but most of her evidence is outdated. For example, the author stated that the analyses of price increase during the period of 1985-2000 for food in different categories shows that cost of sweets, fats, and caloric beverages fell substantially in relation to fresh vegetables and fruits (Economic Research Service of the USDA, 2002). She used evidence to prove her point, but her evidence is from twelve years ago. What it was back then is different from what it is today. The author has written other books including Global Food Prices, food vs fuels. Although she is an expert, I think she was biased at her judgments by making assumptions. For example, the author involved the government being liable for some of the causes of obesity, but her judgments are more of a political view than factual on that part. The chapter has a tremendous amount of assumptions from the author, which makes it a bad article for a research