The relationship between obesity and self-esteem: longitudinal evidence from Australian adults

We examine whether low self-esteem increases the risk of obesity in a panel of Australian adults. To address the problem of endogeneity, we look at weight changes following exogenous shocks to self-esteem, such as the unexpected death of friends and family members. We find that negative shocks adversely affect self-esteem in turn leading to large increases in weight via increased food consumption and reduced exercise. The effects of the negative shocks were found to be larger for the lower educated and females.