The effect of retirement on obesity

Sammanfattning

This study analyzes the heterogeneous effect of retiring from employment and unemployment on obesity, using SHARE database. The sample consist of employed, unemployed, and retired individuals between 50 to 75 years old. The results shows that neither retirement from employment nor unemployment leads to obesity. However, subgroup analysis indicates that women who retire from employment are 23 % less likely to be obese. No significant effect was found for men retiring from employment or unemployment, nor for females retiring from unemployment. Additionally, physical activity plays a fundamental role. Among individuals who perform some level of physical activity, retirement from employment significantly reduced the likelihood of being obese, by 15.7 %. However, the effect of retiring from unemployment on obesity remain insignificant, even within active individuals.