| Childhood obesity has become an epidemic worldwide and regionally. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), globally, in 2015, the number of overweight children under the age of five was estimated to be over 42 million. Almost half of these overweight children under 5 lived in Asia and one quarter lived in Africa. In China, the incidence of childhood obesity has seen a rising trend in recent years, turning into a severe public health challenge. Obesity brings about an unprecedented heavy burden to children's health outcomes, and also plays a negative role in children's mental health and academic performance. In addition to genetic influences, many socioeconomic factors contribute to childhood obesity. This paper considers the effect of Hukou policy, the household registration system in China, and other socioeconomic factors on children's body mass index (BMI), which is an important indicator of children's health outcomes. My hypothesis is that compared to their rural counterparts, children with an urban Hukou status or living in urban areas are more likely to have a normal BMI, that is, a healthy weight. To test this hypothesis, I conduct a multivariate analysis of four rounds of the China Health and Nutrition Survey data from 2000 to 2009, estimating nine separate regressions using pooled LPM, logit and fixed effects analyses. The results strongly support my hypothesis. |
