Low vs. high income: The impact of high-rise buildings on prevalence of obesity

• Published in: Cities 2024-03, Vol.146, p.104697, Article 104697
• Main Authors: Arbel, Yuval, Arbel, Yifat, Kerner, Amichai, Kerner, Miryam
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Externalities; High-rise buildings; Inequality; Low income quantile; Obesity
• ISSN: 0264-2751; 1873-6084
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cities.2023.104697

The relationship between health, proxied by the prevalence of obesity, and the level of income is well documented. Based on the CDC report at a US statewide level between 2011 and 2020, the current study extends this discussion by exploring the impact of urban environments, proxied by the number of skyscrapers, on this relationship. In this context, the question that still remains open is what is the extent of urban development that can reduce the dimensions of the obesity pandemic to a minimum and whether this effect is different across poor versus rich populations. Consequently, the contribution of this study is the use of the quadratic model, which permit non-monotonic relationships between obesity prevalence and the number of skyscrapers. We also examine the incremental change in the number of skyscrapers. The global aspect of our study may be described as follows. For countries with per-capita GDP higher than $75,000 (lower than $25,000) – urban development of skyscrapers is expected to be beneficial on obesity prevalence up to 142 (126) skyscrapers. Compared to poor countries, the incremental impact of high-rise construction on obesity prevalence at the downward domain of the U-shaped curve is expected to be much more beneficial among rich countries. •Background: Skyscrapers are the typical characteristics of modern cities.•Objective Relationship between obesity prevalence, income and number of skyscrapers.•Method: Quadratic regression model.•Results: A U-shaped curve for the lowest and highest income with the number of skyscrapers.•Public Policy Repercussions: More health education in dense urban environments.