Food Insecurity Increases the Odds of Obesity Among Young Hispanic Children
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ORIGINAL PAPER
Food Insecurity Increases the Odds of Obesity Among Young Hispanic Children Mia A. Papas1 • Jillian C. Trabulsi1 • Alicia Dahl1 • Gregory Dominick1
Ó Springer Science+Business Media New York 2015
Abstract Obesity is a growing public health concern and is more prevalent among low-income and minority populations. Food insecurity may increase the odds of obesity in children. We investigated the association between food insecurity and obesity among low-income, Hispanic, mother–child dyads (n = 74). The United States Department of Agriculture 18-item Household Food Security Survey was used to determine food security status. The majority of households were food insecure (74 %) and onethird (30 %) of children were obese. Food insecurity increased the odds of childhood obesity (OR 10.2; 95 % CI 1.2, 85.5) with stronger associations found within households where mothers were also overweight/obese compared to normal weight (p-for interaction \ 0.05). Rates of household food insecurity and childhood obesity were high among this low-income Hispanic sample. Future studies should elucidate the mechanisms through which food insecurity impacts childhood obesity. Keywords Food insecurity Childhood obesity Hispanic Maternal and child health
Background Obesity is one of the leading causes of morbidity and premature mortality in the United States [1]. Since 1970, the prevalence of obesity has tripled and continues to
& Mia A. Papas [email protected] 1
Department of Behavioral Health and Nutrition, College of Health Sciences, University of Delaware, 013 Carpenter Sports Building, 26 North College Avenue, Newark, DE 19716, USA
remain a serious public health concern [2–4]. The Hispanic population is the fastest growing ethnic minority group comprising 17 % of the U.S. total population [5]. Hispanic women are 40 % more likely to be obese when compared to non-Hispanic white women [2–4]. This race/ethnic disparity is also evident among children where 21 % of Hispanic children are obese compared to 14 % of nonHispanic whites [6, 7]. Food insecurity, defined as limited access to adequate food due to a lack of financial and other resources [8], may play a role in obesity. Over the past two decades, as obesity rates have increased, so have rates of food insecurity (low or very low food secure), especially among Hispanic households [8, 9]. In 2011, 15 % of non-Hispanic households in the United States were food insecure compared to 27 % of Hispanic households. This raises concern since adults living in food insecure environments are at risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, poor mental and physical health, and obesity [10–12]. Dietz [13] first posited the food insecurity-obesity paradox in 1995. Since then there has been a growing body of evidence examining the co-existence of food insecurity and obesity. In theory, the relationship between obesity and food insecurity is contradictory because obesity suggests an excess of energy (food) intake compared to energy requirements, and food insecurity indicates inadequate f
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