Abstract
There is evidence that poverty is related to adverse child health outcomes. Yet, evidence is lacking on how economic hardship experiences during early childhood are related to adolescent obesity, how the relationship may differ by child sex, in addition to the potential child and maternal behavioral factors that link economic hardship and adolescent obesity. The purpose of the current study was to address this gap by using longitudinal data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N = 1814). The analytic sample included 50.5% girls, 20% experiencing overweight status, and 19% experiencing obesity. Majority of the adolescents were born to non-Hispanic black (49%), U.S. born (86%), married/cohabitating mothers (61%) with high school or greater level of education (75%). The economic hardship trajectory classes were determined using the latent growth mixture modeling approach and supported a 4-class trajectory model, with 5% of the adolescents in the high-increasing economic hardship trajectory class. The children in the high-increasing economic hardship class had increased odds of developing overweight/obesity in adolescence compared to those in low-stable class. This association was significantly moderated by child sex (i.e., relationship was significant for adolescent boys). Parenting stress and child snacking behaviors did not significantly mediate the association between economic hardship classes and overweight/obesity. Economic hardships that increase through early childhood need to be recognized as an obesity risk factor particularly for adolescent boys.
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D.C.H conceptualized the study, participated in its design, coordination and helped to draft the paper; S.S.D participated in the design, performed the statistical analysis, participate in interpretation of the data and drafted the paper; B.R.S participate in interpretation of the data helped to draft the paper. All authors read and approved the final paper.
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Research reported in this publication was supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) of the National Institutes of Health under award numbers R01HD36916, R01HD39135, and R01HD40421, as well as a consortium of private foundations. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
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This study was performed in line with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. The FFCWS was reviewed and approved by Princeton University and Columbia University Institutional Review Boards. The current study was approved by the Institutional Review Board #13394-EX (Fragile Families Study) at University of Houston.
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Daundasekara, S.S., Schuler, B.R. & Hernandez, D.C. Stability and Change in Early Life Economic Hardship Trajectories and the Role of Sex in Predicting Adolescent Overweight/Obesity. J Youth Adolescence 49, 1645–1662 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-020-01249-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-020-01249-3