The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #50337

Patricia Crawford, DrPH, RD¹, Marilyn Townsend, PhD², Yvonne Nicholson, MS³, Mary Fujii, MS³, Cathi Lamp, MS³, Jan Harwood, MS³, Nancy Feldman, MS³, Anna Martin, MS³, and Hugo Melgar-Quinonez, MS³. (1) Nutritional Sciences, University of California, Berkeley, 9 A/B Morgan Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720-3104, 510-642-3589, pbcraw@uclink4.berkeley.edu, (2) Department of Nutrition, UC Davis, 3253 Meyer Hall, One Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616-8669, (3) Nutrition, UC Davis, 4145 Branch Center Rd., Sacramento, CA 95827

INTRODUCTION. An association between food insecurity and overweight has been documented in women, but not men. The relationship between food insecurity and overweight in young children is less clear. OBJECTIVE. This study sought to examine the relationship between food insecurity and overweight in a group of low-income Latino children. METHODS. The study was conducted in six counties in California where a convenience sample of 566 mother-child pairs was drawn. Heights and weights of children between the ages of 2 and 5 were examined. Household food security was assessed using the 18-item Core Food Security Module. Seventy six percent of the mothers in the study were primarily Spanish speaking. Thirty eight percent of the children were classified as overweight or at risk of overweight using the 85th percentile BMI as cut-off. Household food security was not found to be associated with children’s overweight, as assessed by body mass index. DISCUSSION. While others have shown a relationship between food insecurity and mother’s overweight in this group of low- income Latino families, we were not able to discern any association between food insecurity and young children’s weight status. One explanation might be that young children are protected from the effects of food insecurity at mild and moderate levels; thus one would not expect to see effects of food insecurity on weight status at the youngest ages. Future studies are needed to confirm our finding and examine associations between food insecurity and overweight in older children.

Learning Objectives:

• The audience members will be able to describe the association between food insecurity and child overweight in Latino children.

Keywords: Obesity, Food Security

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.