The Economics and Business Alumni Wall funds a doctoral thesis on obesity social factors

One of the conclusions of the research is that the more years of education, the fewer problems on obesity.
One of the conclusions of the research is that the more years of education, the fewer problems on obesity.
Research
(21/03/2019)

The more years of education, the fewer problems on obesity. This is one of the conclusions from the doctoral thesis Essays on the economics of obesity, read by Athina Raftopoulou at the Faculty of Economics and Business, to contribute to the improvement of prevention policies for this pathology. This social side of research has been one of the reasons why it was chosen as the first doctoral thesis to be funded by the Alumni Wall from the Faculty of Economics and Business. In the thesis, Raftopoulou analyses several social and economic factors to see how these impact the body mass index.

One of the conclusions of the research is that the more years of education, the fewer problems on obesity.
One of the conclusions of the research is that the more years of education, the fewer problems on obesity.
Research
21/03/2019

The more years of education, the fewer problems on obesity. This is one of the conclusions from the doctoral thesis Essays on the economics of obesity, read by Athina Raftopoulou at the Faculty of Economics and Business, to contribute to the improvement of prevention policies for this pathology. This social side of research has been one of the reasons why it was chosen as the first doctoral thesis to be funded by the Alumni Wall from the Faculty of Economics and Business. In the thesis, Raftopoulou analyses several social and economic factors to see how these impact the body mass index.

In her study, Raftopulou analyses and compared population samples of areas in the south of Spain (in particular Andalusia, Extremadura and Murcia), and northern Spain (Asturias, Cantabria, Galicia, Navarra, the Basque Country and la Rioja). The thesis, led by the lecturer Joan Gil, gathers data on the body mass index, for instance, it shows the body mass index among women in northern Spain is of 24.74 and in southern Spain is 25.29, a higher difference compared to men, for which the figures are 26.65 and 26.76, respectively. The thesis states obesity has increased in Spain over the last two decades, a tendency seen in most of developed countries. It also notes that during this period, the influence of income has reduced as an obesity-related factor, and it also studies other environmental factors. The study concludes that social and economic factors -mainly education years- make the difference regarding the body mass index.

The Alumni Wall is an initiative that was born two years ago at the Faculty of Economics and Business, to find new fund formulas for the center through contributions by former students. The name of each participant in the project is engraved in one of the walls in the hall of the Faculty. The first result of the project was the funding of Athina Raftopoulouʼs doctoral thesis, for which 6,175 euros were raised -a total of forty-nine patrons- through the Verkami micro-patronage platform. The aim of the Wall is for the former students to be involved in the funding of projects that do not have public funds and could not be carried out otherwise. Former students can choose the program they want to make a donation to: internationalization and talent recruitment, research funding for training researchers and modernization of facilities and infrastructures.