Working Paper: NBER ID: w11956
Authors: Jayachandran N. Variyam; John Cawley
Abstract: The Nutrition Labeling and Education Act (NLEA) imposed significant changes in the information about calories and nutrients that manufacturers of packaged foods must provide to consumers. This paper tests whether the release of this information impacted body weight and obesity among American adults. We estimate the effect of the new label using a difference-in-differences method. We compare the change before and after the implementation of NLEA in body weight among those who use labels when food shopping to that among those who do not use labels. In National Health Interview Survey data we find, among non-Hispanic white women, that the implementation of the new labels was associated with a decrease in body weight and the probability of obesity. Using NLEA regulatory impact analysis benchmarks, we estimate that the total monetary benefit of this decrease in body weight was $63 to $166 billion over a 20-year period, far in excess of the costs of the NLEA.
Keywords: Nutrition Labels; Obesity; NLEA
JEL Codes: I18
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Nutrition Labeling and Education Act (NLEA) (D18) | body weight (I14) |
| Nutrition Labeling and Education Act (NLEA) (D18) | probability of obesity (C46) |
| Nutrition Labeling and Education Act (NLEA) (D18) | body weight (non-Hispanic black women) (I14) |
| Nutrition Labeling and Education Act (NLEA) (D18) | body weight (black men) (I14) |
| Nutrition Labeling and Education Act (NLEA) (D18) | dietary choices (D91) |