AN ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: The Effects of Adolescent Employment on Body Weight and Nutrition Outcomes

Abstract

Since 1980, the number of obese adolescents in the United States has grown by over 300%. This paper examines the factors that may be responsible for this rapidly increasing rate, focusing on the relationship between employment and body weight and nutrition outcomes. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, I look at descriptive statistics and run regressions with a sample of 1,715 participants age 16-19 years old. My results show that adolescents who work full-time have significantly higher body weight outcomes while adolescents who work part-time suffer little effects compared to adolescents who do not work. Furthermore, I find that adolescents who work full-time have worse nutrition outcomes compared to part-time employed and not employed adolescents. These findings control for individuallevel measures such as age, gender, and schooling, among other things.