We examine the intergenerational persistence of health in a low- and middle-income country, using longitudinal datasets from Indonesia. Our study evaluates both objective and self-reported health outcomes including self-reported health (SRH), hemoglobin levels, anemia, pulse, hypertension, and adiposity measures (BMI, overweight and waist-hip ratio) to assess the persistence of these conditions across generations.

Linking the health of adult children to their parents, we find significant differences in persistence between objective and subjective health measures. SRH and adiposity show stronger persistence, especially through maternal health, with daughters more susceptible. In contrast, objective measures like waist-hip ratio show minimal intergenerational persistence, suggesting individual lifestyle factors play a larger role. Daughters are more affected by maternal health in hemoglobin, anemia, pulse rate and BMI, while paternal health has a weaker but notable influence.

Our results remain robust across regions and ethnic groups. We conclude that the persistence of intergenerational health significantly hinders socioeconomic mobility, underscoring the need for maternal health-oriented health policies, including prenatal care, nutrition, and family-based interventions to reduce the transmission of chronic diseases such as anemia and obesity.

Currently, Dr. Huixia Wang is an associate professor at Hunan University. Her research interests encompass health economics, environmental economics, and development economics, with a particular focus on assessing the health impacts of pollution, climate change, and economic fluctuations in developing countries. She earned both her PhD and MA in economics from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.