The beginning rise in obesity prevalence rates in South Africa was first noticed already in the early
1990s. Since then, several articles have discussed how the nutrition transition has affected people’s
body weights in the country. This article is the first one that uses longitudinal data from South
Africa to reveal the short- and long-term effects that socio-economic and cultural factors have on
the probability of becoming obese. The concept of “benign” obesity seems to influence people’s
perceptions of an ideal body shape and thus model the preference for a higher body weight.
Women are more affected by increasing body weights than men. We find that time invariant
characteristics and long-term effects have the largest influence on the probability of becoming
obese. To address the problems of obesity, we suggest implementing programs that change
people’s attitudes and behavior regarding food intake and physical activity. If people change their
perception of what kind of body weight can be considered as being healthy, then a combination of
different health programs can be successful.