Relationship between food insecurity, child weight status, and parent‐reported child eating and snacking behaviors

Abstract

Purpose Prior studies showed that food insecurity may increase the odds of obesity in children and adults. We still know very little about the familial aggregation of obesity in food insecure households or the mechanisms by which food insecurity confers an increased risk of obesity to children. The purpose of this study was to compare children and mothers from food insecure and food secure households in their weight status, child eating patterns/behaviors, and maternal feeding practices. Design and Methods Fifty mothers of 8- to 10-year-old children were asked to complete questionnaires, including the U.S. Household Food Security survey, and had their own and their children’s heights and weights measured. Results The odds of a child being obese were 5 times higher for children from food insecure households compared to children from food secure households [95%CI: 1.15, 20.8]. In univariate analyses, children from food insecure households showed significantly greater external eating, both past satiation and in the absence of hunger (p < .03), and mothers from food insecure households expressed significantly greater concern about their children’s weight and used restrictive feeding practices to a greater extent (p < .03) when compared to families from food secure households. A greater proportion of children from food secure households consumed 3–4 snacks per day (45.9% vs. 15.4%) while a higher proportion of children from food insecure households consumed ≥ 5 snacks per day (15.4% vs. 0%; p = .02). Practice Implications These findings provide further support for an association between food insecurity and childhood obesity and suggest that differences in external eating, child snacking patterns, and select maternal feeding practices may be implicated in food-insecure children’s overconsumption of calories. When caring for food-insecure children, health care providers should screen for problematic eating patterns and feeding practices.

Association of food security status with overweight and dietary intake: exploration of White British and Pakistani-origin families in the Born in Bradford cohort

“…In children, studies of food insecurity and weight have reported mixed findings. Some have found positive associations between food insecurity and body weight [ 16 , 41 , 42 ] while others have found none [ 17 , 43 ], or even negative associations [ 44 , 45 ]. Our results suggest that the relationship between food insecurity and child’s overweight may differ by ethnicity.…”

Household food insecurity associated with gestacional and neonatal outcomes: a systematic review

“…In pregnancy, some aspects of a woman's life may play a major role during the gestational period and for neonatal outcomes, especially in adverse social contexts [10,11]; such effects were estimated to occur for approximately 70% of pregnant women in Nigeria [12] In this sense, FI can be an important variable for the presence or aggravation of stressful pregnancy events by compromising access to sufficient and quality food, as well as increasing clinical complications during pregnancy and childbirth and in newborns [8,13,14]. Some relationships of FI with pregnancy have been documented in previous studies, such as associations of FI with overweight in mothers [5], low birth weight [15], low weight in children, inadequate development, overweight, impaired cognitive development, and behavioural and emotional factors [16][17][18][19].…”

Influences of Parental Snacking-Related Attitudes, Behaviours and Nutritional Knowledge on Young Children’s Healthy and Unhealthy Snacking: The ToyBox Study

“…The strong influence of parental eating behaviour and feeding practices on children's diet is well established [6,13]. However, there is less understanding of parental influences, specifically on children's snacking behaviours [14,15], i.e., energy consumption between meals, particularly in relation to how different healthy or unhealthy snacking habits, might contribute to children's risk of obesity [16]. A recent systematic review of 47 studies on parenting practices that included information on children's snacking found that 39 of these studies concerned parenting practices not specifically related to snacking [17].…”