Abstract
OBJECTIVES
The literature exploring the relationship between food insecurity and obesity for preschool-aged children is inconclusive and suffers from inconsistent measurement. This paper explores the relationships between concurrent household and child food insecurity and child overweight as well as differences in these relationships by child gender using a sample of 2-5 year old children.
METHODS
Using measured height and weight and responses to the Household Food Security Survey Module collected from a sample of 438 preschool-aged children (mean age 39 months) and their mothers, logistic regression models were fit to estimate the relationship between household and child food insecurity and child BMI. Separate models were fit for girls and boys.
RESULTS
Twenty-seven percent of children from food insecure households and 25 % of child food insecure children were overweight or obese (BMI ≥ 85 %). There were no statistically significant associations between either household or child food insecurity and BMI for the full sample. For girls, but not boys, household food insecurity was associated with BMI z-scores (β = 0.23, p = 0.01).
CONCLUSIONS
Although food insecurity and overweight were not significantly associated, a noteworthy proportion of food insecure children were overweight or obese. Programs for young children should address food insecurity and obesity simultaneously by ensuring that young children have regular access to nutrient-dense foods.
TY - JOUR
T1 - The Relationship Between Food Insecurity and BMI for Preschool Children.
AU - Speirs,Katherine E,
AU - Fiese,Barbara H,
AU - ,,
PY - 2015/12/15/entrez
PY - 2015/12/15/pubmed
PY - 2017/1/4/medline
KW - Body mass index
KW - Child health
KW - Childhood obesity
KW - Food insecurity
KW - Preschool-aged children
SP - 925
EP - 33
JF - Maternal and child health journal
JO - Matern Child Health J
VL - 20
IS - 4
N2 - OBJECTIVES: The literature exploring the relationship between food insecurity and obesity for preschool-aged children is inconclusive and suffers from inconsistent measurement. This paper explores the relationships between concurrent household and child food insecurity and child overweight as well as differences in these relationships by child gender using a sample of 2-5 year old children. METHODS: Using measured height and weight and responses to the Household Food Security Survey Module collected from a sample of 438 preschool-aged children (mean age 39 months) and their mothers, logistic regression models were fit to estimate the relationship between household and child food insecurity and child BMI. Separate models were fit for girls and boys. RESULTS: Twenty-seven percent of children from food insecure households and 25 % of child food insecure children were overweight or obese (BMI ≥ 85 %). There were no statistically significant associations between either household or child food insecurity and BMI for the full sample. For girls, but not boys, household food insecurity was associated with BMI z-scores (β = 0.23, p = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Although food insecurity and overweight were not significantly associated, a noteworthy proportion of food insecure children were overweight or obese. Programs for young children should address food insecurity and obesity simultaneously by ensuring that young children have regular access to nutrient-dense foods.
SN - 1573-6628
UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/26662281/The_Relationship_Between_Food_Insecurity_and_BMI_for_Preschool_Children_
L2 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-015-1881-0
DB - PRIME
DP - Unbound Medicine
ER -
