Obesity Risk by Socioeconomic Status and District Characteristics
| Overweight (85th Percentile) | Obesity (95th Percentile) | Severe Obesity (99th Percentile) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Panel A: By Family Background Characteristics | |||
| By minority status | |||
| Majority | 0.143 | 0.046 | 0.008 |
| Minority | 0.170 | 0.061 | 0.010 |
| Number of observations | 249,467 | ||
| By mother’s education | |||
| Mother with higher education | 0.127 | 0.038 | 0.008 |
| Mother without higher education | 0.162 | 0.058 | 0.013 |
| Number of observations | 278,661 | ||
| By father’s employment status | |||
| Father is employed | 0.164 | 0.058 | 0.013 |
| Father is not employed | 0.183 | 0.074 | 0.020 |
| Number of observations | 149,323 | ||
| Panel B: By District Characteristics | |||
| By district unemployment rate | |||
| District below mean | 0.144 | 0.048 | 0.009 |
| District above mean | 0.168 | 0.061 | 0.014 |
| Number of observations | 464,003 | ||
| By district GDP | |||
| District below mean | 0.159 | 0.057 | 0.013 |
| District above mean | 0.149 | 0.051 | 0.011 |
| Number of observations | 365,389 | ||
Data sources: School entry examinations, Schleswig-Holstein, Lower Saxony, Brandenburg, and Destatis (district characteristics).
Notes: The table shows the share of overweight, obese, and severely obese children at age six by parental background and district characteristics. Minority children are children whose parents migrated to Germany (for data from Weser-Ems) or children who do not have German citizenship (for data from Schleswig-Holstein). Information about migration background is not available in the state of Brandenburg. Mothers with higher education have either obtained a university degree (Brandenburg and Weser-Ems) or a school-leaving qualification that allows them to enter university (Schleswig-Holstein).