Race-Ethnicity and Unhealthy Body Mass: A Quantile Regression Analysis

Lingxin Hao, Johns Hopkins University
Julie Kim, Johns Hopkins University

This paper examines racial-ethnic disparity in BMI using the 2005 NHIS. Quantile regression models are used to estimate the partial effect of race-ethnicity at the CDC standards for malnourishment, overweight, obesity, and extreme obesity. Separately for men and women and controlling for age, income, immigrant arrival cohorts, marital status, and Food Stamp use, our analysis shows: (1) The black-white disparity is stronger in the overweight and obese ranges among women, whereas there is little black-white disparity among men. (2) Compared to whites, Hispanics generally have higher BMI over the full distribution: Hispanic men are particularly heavier in the extreme obese range while Hispanic women are so in the overweight and obese ranges. (3) Overall, Asians have lower BMI than whites: Asian men are particularly thinner than white men at the overweight and obese ranges whereas Asian women are particularly thinner at the obese and extreme obese ranges.