Health’s Kitchen

Abstract

This paper investigates whether and how media exposure affects health behavior. We exploit the idiosyncratic switchover to digital television in Italy and the consequent shift in the supply of food-related content on TV. We use a unique dataset based on four sources of data to provide evidence that food shows affect individual choices based on individual search patterns for cuisine-related information and recipes on the web. We then show that the digital transition improved the composition of households’ food baskets and dietary choices, leading to a reduction in body mass index (BMI) and obesity, especially among more exposed individuals. These findings bring into question the negative stereotypes often associated with TV and highlight the potential of edutainment as a new lever in health policy.