A Prospective Study of Parentally Bereaved Youth, Caregiver Depression, and Body Mass Index

Abstract

Objective To examine the relationship between body mass index (BMI) in bereaved youth and nonbereaved controls 5 years after a parent’s death. The study was conducted from August 9, 2002, through December 31, 2013. Design A prospective, longitudinal, controlled study of the effects of sudden parental death on youth. Setting Bereaved families were recruited through coroner records and by advertisement. Nonbereaved families were recruited using random-digit dialing and by advertisement. Participants 123 parentally bereaved offspring were compared with 122 nonbereaved control offspring, all of whom were aged 11–25 years at the 5-year assessment. Main Exposure Bereavement status, type of parental death (accident, suicide, or sudden natural death), and history of depression in caregivers prior to parental death. Outcome Measures BMI categories (normal, overweight, and obese), according to International Obesity Task Force guidelines for adults and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for children, and DSM-IV psychiatric disorder in offspring and caregivers before and after time of parental death. Results Bereaved offspring were more likely to have a BMI in the obese range compared to nonbereaved controls (χ22 = 7.13, P <.01). There were no differences in BMI category by death type among bereaved offspring. Caregiver history of depression was a significant correlate of offspring obesity in nonbereaved youth but had a protective effect on the BMI of bereaved youth. Conclusions Bereaved youth were more likely to be obese than nonbereaved youth 5 years after parental death, and caregiver history of depression was associated with increased risk for obesity in nonbereaved youth only. Future studies are necessary to identify mechanisms that increase risk for obesity in parentally bereaved youth.

Examining the association between early life social adversity and BMI changes in childhood: a life course trajectory analysis

“…Individual item responses were recoded from a 4-point Likert scale and summed to provide an overall financial difficulty score across all items for the four time points where a value of 0 represented no financial difficulty and a value of 15 represented maximum financial difficulty. These scores were then categorized as 'no financial difficulty' (0), 'some finan-cial difficulty' (1)(2)(3)(4), 'moderate financial difficulty' (5-9) and 'great financial difficulty' (10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15). At 8, 21, 33 and 47 months, mothers and their partners were asked to report whether their respective partners had died or separated from them.…”

“…Weight and height data were used from a variety of sources including health visitor records, parental reports and measurements taken at clinic visits. Four measurements were taken from routine health visitor records (as part of standard UK childcare) at around 2, 10, 21 and 48 months; mothers were asked to report their child's height and weight regularly from 3 years; clinics were carried out at 4, 8, 12 and 18 months for a subset of 10% of participants and at 7,8,9,10,11,12,13,15 and 17 years for all participants. BMI was calculated as weight (kg) divided by height (m) squared.…”

Why young women gain weight: A narrative review of influencing factors and possible solutions

“…Those who had lost a parent 5 years ago were more likely to have a BMI ≥ 30 kg/ m 2 compared with nonbereaved controls (31.7% vs 18.9%, P < .01). However, the authors accept that there may not be a causal association between parental bereavement and weight as other factors, for example, parenting style or BMI before parental death, may influence later BMI …”

Nutritional Considerations During Bereavement

“…Importantly, the effect of bereavement was greatest during the fi rst year following a loss, and bereaved persons frequently lost weight. Weinberg et al (2013) report that about 4 % of "US children (2.5 million) will experience the death of one of their parents by the age of 18 years" (p. 834). Findings were inconsistent relative to health status, particularly the development of obesity.…”

“…Findings were inconsistent relative to health status, particularly the development of obesity. Weinberg et al (2013) examined the long-term (5 years), following the death of a parent, effects on body mass index of 123 participants who ranged between 11 and 25 years. When compared to a control group of nonbereaved participants, youth who experienced the loss of a parent were more likely to be obese 5 years after the death of a parent, even when taking caregiver depression into account.…”