肥胖与中国农村家庭食物浪费——基于1562户农户调查数据的实证分析

随着收入水平提升,农村家庭的日常饮食变得更加丰富,但肥胖和食物浪费问题也日益严重。基于2016年中国28省（市、自治区）1562户农户调查数据,在评估中国农村家庭食物浪费数量的基础上,实证分析肥胖对农村家庭食物浪费的影响。结果表明：（1）中国农村家庭平均每天浪费1.62%的食物,东南沿海等经济发达地区的农村食物浪费现象更为严重。（2）肥胖与农村家庭食物浪费显著正相关,这意味着伴随农户收入持续增长,农村肥胖问题凸显的同时,也容易引发食物浪费问题。（3）肥胖对家庭食物浪费的影响存在年龄异质性,户主小于60岁的情况下,肥胖与家庭食物浪费显著正相关;户主大于等于60岁的分组中,肥胖与家庭食物浪费的关系不显著。

Obesity and household food waste in rural China: An empirical analysis based on the survey data of 1562 households

Economic development has improved people's daily diets, but food waste and obesity have increased significantly. Currently, China is the country with the most obese population in the world. Meanwhile, food waste has become the major source of post-harvest loss in China, and about 7% of total food production is wasted in consumption stage. Based on 1562 survey samples from 28 provincial-level regions in China, this study assessed food waste in rural China and empirically analysed the impact of obesity on rural household food waste. The results showed that, first, on average, 1.62% of food is wasted per household each day in rural China. Food waste is greater in economically developed areas, such as Southeast China. Second, empirical analysis showed that obesity is significantly positively correlated with food waste, which suggested that the households with more obesity population are more likely to waste food. Third, there is age heterogeneity in the impact of obesity on household food waste. When the head of household is younger than 60 years old, obesity is significantly positively correlated with household food waste. When the head of household is older than or equal to 60 years old, obesity is positively but not significantly correlated with household food waste. The reason for this phenomenon may be that older farmers have experienced the years of arduous before the reform and opening up in the late 1970s, and they have a stronger awareness of food saving, which will reduce the food waste. Hence, the government should encourage and promote farmers to develop an awareness of food saving through television, radio and other media channels that are popular among farmers. Moreover, various forms of food saving actions should be encouraged through legislation and training programs. This study assessed the current situation of food waste in rural China and analyzed the impact of obesity on food waste, which not only supplements the literature on obesity and food waste, but also has significance for improving food policy.