In the richest countries in the world, people tend to be thinner the richer they are.
But in Uganda, one of the poorest countries, where almost half the people eat fewer calories than they need each day, excess fat is often a sign of wealth and can help maintain a healthy diet, according to a forthcoming article in The American Economic Review to get a bank loan.
It is not surprising that in places where food is scarce, obesity is an important predictor of wealth. However, the new study shows that there is a lack of information even in poor countries. And in such situations, loan officers use whatever evidence they can find to make important economic decisions.
“Given the lack of readily available tangible information in poor countries, signals of wealth, including obesity, play a crucial role in economic interactions in which individuals attempt to gauge a person’s wealth,” said Elisa Macchi, assistant professor of economics at Brown University.
As part of her research, Ms. Macchi conducted tests on 238 loan officers at 146 financial institutions in the capital, Kampala. She asked them to review applications from fictitious potential borrowers whose attached photos had been manipulated to make them appear thin or fat.
In Uganda, it’s not uncommon for people to attach a photo of themselves when submitting a loan application, and it can be a source of information that a loan officer uses to decide whether to even grant an applicant an initial interview, Ms Macchi said.
She found 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 high, equivalent to the effect of a 60 percent increase in the borrower’s self-reported income in the experiment” or an additional asset such as owning a car, according to the study.
Historically, obesity was valued in some parts of sub-Saharan Africa. Mauritania was once notorious for the practice of brutally force-feeding young girls to make them marriageable – a practice known as tube feeding, derived from the French term for force-feeding geese to make foie gras. Fat was considered both a sign of family wealth and a cultural ideal.
Recently, obesity has become a health concern of increasing concern on the continent, a development that follows the trend in the wealthiest countries where obesity is often correlated with poverty. The easy availability of cheap, highly processed foods with little nutritional value allows people to satisfy their hunger without promoting overall health.
In developing countries, dietary changes, lack of physical activity, and use of different modes of transportation, especially in cities, all contribute to weight gain.
“Africa is facing a growing problem of obesity and overweight and the trend is rising,” said Matshidiso Moeti, the World Health Organization’s regional director for Africa, in a statement last year. “If left unchecked, millions of people, including children, risk shortened lives under the burden of ill health.”
Research has found that obesity is linked to serious illness and hospitalization for Covid-19 patients.
The World Health Organization 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, despite scientifically based recommendations, cultural associations and stereotypes often persist, such as the belief that fat is a sign of big money.
But at least in the case of loan officers in Uganda, facts ultimately trumped perceptions. When more solid information was provided – such as income, collateral and occupation of the loan applicant – lenders took advantage of it and the so-called obesity premium went down.
“The good thing is that it’s not that entrenched,” Ms. Macchi said of preconceptions about wealth and weight. “The moment we give them the information, they act on it.”