In poorer countries, obesity can signal financial security
In the richest countries in the world, the richer people are, the thinner they are.
But in Ugandaone of the poorest nationswhere nearly half the population eats fewer calories than they need each day, excess fat is often a sign of wealth and can help secure a bank loan, according to a forthcoming article in The American Economic Review.
Unsurprisingly, in places where food is scarce, obesity is an important indicator of wealth.
But what the new study points out is that information is scarce even in poor countries. And in those situations, loan officers use all the evidence they can find to make crucial economic decisions.
“Given the paucity of readily available hard information in poor countries, wealth signals, including obesity, play a critical role in economic interactions where individuals attempt to evaluate one’s wealth,” said Elisa Macchi, an assistant professor of economics at Brown University.
As part of her researchMs. Macchi conducted tests with 238 loan officers at 146 financial institutions in the capital Kampala. She asked them to review applications from fictionalized potential borrowers whose accompanying photos were manipulated to appear thin or fat.
It’s not uncommon in Uganda for people to include a photo of themselves when submitting a loan application, and it could be a piece of information a loan officer uses to decide whether to grant an applicant even an initial interview, Ms Macchi said.
What she found was that loan officers were more likely to rate applicants as more creditworthy and financially sound when the obese version of the photo was attached.
“The obesity premium is large, equivalent to the effect of a 60 percent increase in the borrower’s self-reported income in the experiment,” or an additional benefit such as owning a car, the study concluded.
Historically, obesity was valued in some parts of sub-Saharan Africa. Mauritania was once notorious for its habit of brutal violence force-feeding of young girls to make them more nubile – a practice called gavage, taken from the French term for force-feeding geese to produce foie gras. Fat was considered both a sign of family wealth and a cultural ideal.
Recently, obesity has become an increasingly worrying health concern on the continent, a development that follows the trend in the richest countries where obesity is often associated with poverty. The ready availability of cheap, highly processed foods that have little nutritional value allows people to satisfy hunger pangs without promoting overall health.
In developing countries, changes in diets, lack of physical activity and the use of different modes of transport, especially in cities, contribute to weight gain.
“Africa is facing a growing problem of obesity and overweight, and the trends are increasing,” Matshidiso Moeti, the World Health Organization’s regional director for Africa, said in a statement last year. “If left unchecked, millions of people, including children, risk living shorter lives under the burden of poor health.”
Research has found obesity is linked to serious illness and hospitalization of Covid-19 patients.
The World Health Organisation and other international organizations have begun working with Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda to develop programs and standards to promote healthy eating and physical activity.
However, cultural associations and stereotypes often persist despite science-based recommendations, such as the perception that fat indicates an abundance of money.
But in the case of loan officers in Uganda, the facts ultimately mattered more than the perception. When more solid information was provided, such as the income of the loan applicant, collateral and appeal – lenders used it and the so-called obesity premium fell.
“The good thing is it’s not that ingrained,” Ms Macchi said of prejudices about wealth and weight. “The moment we give them the information, they respond to it.”