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Food Stamps and Obesity: What We Know and What It Means—An ERS review of the literature finds women to be the only group where there may be a link between food stamp participation and the likelihood of obesity. Devising policy changes that target household members at risk of gaining weight, without harming those not at risk, is a difficult challenge. (June 2008)
Food Stamp Program Certification Costs and Errors, 1989-2005: Final Report—Effects of State-level administrative expenditures on client certification activities are examined relative to other program policies, caseload characteristics, and economic conditions. Results show that, in general, a 10-percent increase in certification “effort” reduced certification errors by 2 percent, but the effect was significantly smaller in the period when States were implementing welfare reform. Policy changes enacted with the 2002 Farm Bill were shown to account for a 4.4 percentage point reduction in errors. (June 2008)
Food Stamps and Obesity: What Do We Know?—For most participants in the Food Stamp Program—children, nonelderly men, and the elderly—use of food stamp benefits does not result in an increase in either Body Mass Index (BMI) or the likelihood of being overweight or obese. For women (28 percent of the food stamp caseload), however, some evidence suggests that participation in the Food Stamp Program may increase BMI and the probability of obesity. Because food stamp benefits are issued to households, not individuals, this makes it difficult to target policy alternatives to address potential weight gain among some participants while not affecting others in the household. (March 2008)
Household Food Security and Tradeoffs in the Food Budget of Food Stamp Program Participants: An Engel Function Approach—Based on data from the Current Population Survey Food Security Supplements, FSP participants have consistently higher at-home food spending and lower away-from-home-spending than comparable nonparticipants. For both groups, food security rises with income, but food security remains lower for program participants. Because differences in food spending and food security do not disappear as income rises, the study concludes that observed disparities are not likely to be true program impacts. (March 2008)
 Sources of Variation in State-Level Food Stamp Participation Rates—This study finds that different population characteristics across States were a major factor explaining the wide range (43 to 83 percent) in State-level FSP participation rates. States with a higher share of households headed by elderly people had lower rates, while those with a higher share of households without earnings and headed by nonelderly people had higher rates. (March 2008)
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