The Link between Perceived Income Inequality Conditions and Higher Caloric Intake

Past epidemiological studies have shown a strong correlation between poverty and obesity prevalence. There is significant evidence suggesting that poorer individuals are statistically more likely to be obese. Similarly, studies have also shown a statistical association between income inequality and higher rates of obesity, suggesting that wealthier individuals in unequal societies show higher rates of obesity than those in more equal societies. This discrepancy has led some specialists to hypothesize that some characteristics of inequality trigger unhealthy dietary habits, regardless of access to quality health services, food, and other determinants.

Theories of social and behavioral psychology have tried to explain how inequality and poverty induce behaviors and interactions that may lead to rising obesity rates. These theories predict that individuals in poverty react to a “preemptive caloric intake effect,” which consists of an automatic response when facing uncertainty about food security. This theory states that individuals may preemptively consume high calorie food as a survival strategy. Under inequality conditions, these theories predict that groups at the highest and lowest levels of income are more likely to feel anxiety born from social interaction. This inequality-driven anxiety induces individuals to seek anxiety relief through use xanax or instant gratification via consumption of high caloric food and beverages. In this case, anxiety may affect both the poor and the rich.

A study published by a group of researchers from the Université Libre de Bruxelles provides new empirical evidence on the hypothesized existence and causal effect of preemptive caloric intake and anxiety-related high caloric intake. Through two experimental studies, the researchers analyze the effect on caloric intake of feeling rich or poor, and the effect on caloric intake of feeling richer or poorer in relation to other people. The sample consists of approximately 150 British undergraduate students with similar middle class socioeconomic statuses and family backgrounds.

In the first study, researchers randomly assigned half of the participants to a simulated “wealthy” condition and half to a “poor” condition. Participants assigned a “wealthy” condition read a paragraph describing the life of individuals in their society living in financial and material abundance. Participants assigned the “poor” condition read a similar paragraph describing the life of individuals in their society living under material and financial scarcity.

Both groups were asked to write a few sentences on how they could relate to the group described in their respective paragraphs. This task was intended to induce feelings of being poor or wealthy via assimilation to the group about which they read. The effect of this manipulation was measured and compared to what the participants self reported before the experiment, as well as to their demographic characteristics. The evidence confirms that the experimental manipulation had a statistically significant effect on inducing feelings of being rich or poor for each group. This effect allows researchers to use the effect of feeling poor as a proxy for being poor to study the relationship between perceived socioeconomic status and caloric intake.

When participants in the first study were induced to feel poor, they increased their caloric intake by 54 percent compared to the group induced to feel wealthy. What is more, they self reported increased tastiness of high caloric food, as well as an increased intention to buy it in the future. This implies that, when participants feel poor, they are not simply eating more calories, but they also enjoy high caloric food more and intend to consume more in the future.

In the second study, participants were randomly assigned to “feel poorer” or “feel richer” using a different method. The researchers told participants that they would be meeting to discuss group finances with members of another group—it was then revealed that these other people were either richer, or poorer, or equal to the participants themselves in terms of socioeconomic status. The anticipation of a face-to-face interaction with others from a potentially different socioeconomic status allowed the researchers to measure inequality-induced stress and examine the conditions under which this response leads to increased caloric intake.

Again, the researchers find that feeling poorer or wealthier relative to others increases feelings of anxiety. The results show that, at the 95^th percentile of inequality-induced anxiety, the caloric intake is on average higher relative to participants in lower percentiles of inequality-induced anxiety.

These two findings represent an important contribution to the study of obesity, although their implications may be limited by the small sample size and simulated experiences of inequality. Recently, experts have begun to consider obesity as a multifactorial disease, but evidence linking behavioral and socioeconomic theory with the observed results has been lacking. With these results, there is now evidence for the causal role of response mechanisms, like the preemptive caloric intake effect and anxiety relief behaviors, in linking poverty and inequality with higher caloric intake. These findings also represent a good example of how socioeconomic factors shape behavior towards specific nutritional habits through psychological and behavioral mechanisms and motives.

Article Source: Bratanova, B., S. Loughnan, O. Klein, A. Claassen, and R. Wood. “Poverty, Inequality, and Increased Consumption of High Calorie Food: Experimental Evidence for a Causal Link,” Appetite, 100 (2016):162-171.

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