Biased health perceptions and risky health behaviors—Theory and evidence

Abstract

This paper investigates the role of biased health perceptions as driving forces of risky health behavior. We define absolute and relative health perception biases, illustrate their measurement in surveys and provide evidence on their relevance. Next, we decompose the theoretical effect into its extensive and intensive margin: When the extensive margin dominates, people (wrongly) believe they are healthy enough to "afford" unhealthy behavior. Finally, using three population surveys, we provide robust empirical evidence that respondents who overestimate their health are less likely to exercise and sleep enough, but more likely to eat unhealthily and drink alcohol daily.

“The better you feel, the harder you fall”: Health perception biases and mental health among Chinese adults during the COVID-19 pandemic

“… Arni, Dragone, Goette, and Ziebarth (2021) show that not only objective health but also perceived health can be a significant determinant of individual behavior. Applied to the context of this paper, those who overestimate their health would experience a higher life satisfaction.…”

“…Moreover, everything else equal, those who overestimate their health would enjoy life activities more (in “normal” times). While Arni et al (2021) focus on the consequence for risky health behaviors when considering psychological outcomes, the interdependence between health (be it objective or perceived) and enjoyable activities could amplify the effect that social activities have on perceived health and, ultimately, life satisfaction. Unfortunately, the amplifying effect can also operate in the opposite direction.…”

How the COVID-19 Pandemic Will Change Workplaces, Healthcare Markets and Healthy Living: An Overview and Assessment

“…Moreover, the pandemic taught us to take health risk factors such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and being overweight more seriously [46]. Wearables-fitness trackersbecame prolific within the last decade long before COVID-19.…”

The informational content of subjective expectations for health service use

“…Overall, people tend to overweight (underweight) low (high) probability events. [ 20 , 21 ] show that people are systematically overconfident with respect to their risk of developing health problems (see also [ 22 ]). At the same time, people overestimate their risk of death from influenza, developing breast and lung cancer and suffering from heart disease and stroke when compared to objective predictions [ 12 , 15 ].…”