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We investigate the effect of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) work requirements on work effort for a particularly disadvantaged subgroup of potential SNAP participants. Individuals age out of SNAP work requirements at age fifty and requirements are occasionally waived in certain areas. We leverage this policy variation in a regression discontinuity research design and find that, for adults with low income and low education, aging out of work requirements decreases employment, hours worked, and the probability of working over twenty hours per week only when requirements are in effect. This drop in work effort is not apparent among low‐income adults in general and is driven by individuals leaving the labor force because they report being unable to work or because they retire. The drop is smaller when states do not provide qualifying work opportunities. Overall, although we find meaningful effects consistent with theory for a subset of low‐income adults, it is not clear that the overall number affected is sufficiently large to translate to noticeable labor market effects among low‐income adults without dependents in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Toxoplasmosis gondii exposure has been linked to increased impulsivity and risky behaviors, which has implications for eating behavior. Impulsivity and risk tolerance is known to be related with worse diets and a higher chance of obesity. There is little known, however, about the independent link between Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) exposure and diet-related outcomes. Using linear and quantile regression, we estimated the relationship between T. gondii exposure and BMI, total energy intake (kcal), and diet quality as measured by the Health Eating Index-2015 (HEI) among 9,853 adults from the 2009–2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Previous studies have shown different behavioral responses to T. gondii infection among males and females, and socioeconomic factors are also likely to be important as both T. gondii and poor diet are more prevalent among U.S. populations in poverty. We therefore measured the associations between T. gondii and diet-related outcomes separately for men and women and for respondents in poverty. Among females <200% of the federal poverty level Toxoplasmosis gondii exposure was associated with a higher BMI by 2.0 units (95% CI [0.22, 3.83]) at median BMI and a lower HEI by 5.05 units (95% CI [-7.87, -2.24]) at the 25th percentile of HEI. Stronger associations were found at higher levels of BMI and worse diet quality among females. No associations were found among males. Through a detailed investigation of mechanisms, we were able to rule out T. gondii exposure from cat ownership, differing amounts of meat, and drinking water source as potential confounding factors; environmental exposure to T. gondii as well as changes in human behavior due to parasitic infection remain primary mechanisms. Author summary: Toxoplasmosis gondii (T. gondii) is a parasite that infects over 10 percent of the US population. T. gondii infection can cause serious health problems for some people, but most infections remain undiagnosed and subclinical. When an individual is infected, T. gondii can chronically reside in muscle and central nervous system (including brain) tissue. Previous studies have found that individuals with prior exposure to T. gondii may engage in more risky and impulsive behaviors, and risk tolerance and impulsivity may be related with individual's diet. Our study examines whether individuals with T. gondii exposure have higher body mass index (BMI) and worse diets. We further discuss and test for alternative explanations that prevent us from establishing a causal relationship between T. gondii and BMI/diet. Overall, our results show that T. gondii exposure is related with higher BMI and worse diets among lower-income females in the US. Our results uncover a novel correlate of BMI and diets, and suggest the importance of investigating the broader public health impacts of chronic T. gondii infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]