Understanding the Role of Adolescent Social Networks and Neighborhood Peer Effects on Obesogenic Behaviors and Weight Outcomes using Spatial Analysis

There is an ongoing debate as to the degree to which an adolescent’s peer group affects whether they engage in activity that leads to obesity. This paper moves beyond the standard peer effects literature by using spatial econometrics to answer questions on how peers influence adolescent obesity. There have been significant advances in the use of spatial econometrics to estimate peer effects. There are a variety of models that can solve the well-known “reflection problem” that plagues the peer effects literature. This paper furthers the literature by looking at the community contexts of peer effects as well as the school contexts. I specify alternative spatial weight matrices to account for peer effects in the school environment and peer effects in the neighborhood environment. I use data from the National Longitudinal Study on Adolescent Health Survey to answer these questions since it provides the data necessary to estimate spatial models. This is an important study since neighborhood effects can either enhance or detract from school-based policies to combat obesity among youth.