An Ecological Model of Weight Gain Among School-Age Children

Objective: Childhood obesity rates remain historically high in the United States. One way to conceptualize the many factors that contribute to obesity is through the use of an ecological model. There is a particular need to adapt and test this type of comprehensive model among vulnerable racial/ethn...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Health psychology 2022-03, Vol.41 (3), p.193-203
Main Authors: Loren, Dorothy M., Rea, Elizabeth M., Harber, Kaela A., Bohnert, Amy M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
African Americans
Body Mass Index
Child Health
Childhood
Childhood obesity
Children & youth
Ecological Factors
Ecological studies
Elementary schools
Ethnicity
Family
Family meals
Female
Food security
Human
Insecurity
Kindergarten
Latin American cultural groups
Latinos/Latinas
Male
Meals
Neighborhoods
Obesity
Physical Activity
Poverty
Race
Screen time
Time use
Weight Gain
Youth
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Summary:Objective: Childhood obesity rates remain historically high in the United States. One way to conceptualize the many factors that contribute to obesity is through the use of an ecological model. There is a particular need to adapt and test this type of comprehensive model among vulnerable racial/ethnic and socioeconomic groups. Method: Using a large sample of U.S. youth (n = 8,225) drawn from the ECLS-K:2011, this project applied an ecological model of childhood obesity from kindergarten to second grade, including factors such as child physical activity, child screen time, child bedtime, family physical activity, family food insecurity, family meals, and neighborhood safety. The contributions of each of these factors across racial/ethnic, socioeconomic, and income-to-needs groups were examined concurrently and longitudinally. Results: Among the full sample, the largest standardized effect on weight was for income-to-needs ratio. Moving from above to below 200% of the poverty line resulted in an increase of .12 standard deviations in BMIz. Multigroup analyses indicated that there was only a significant difference in model fit based on race/ethnicity. Among Latino youth, income-to-needs ratio was a significant negative predictor of kindergarten BMIz; however, this effect was not significant among Black/African American youth. Conclusions: Overall, income-to-needs ratio emerged as the strongest link to obesity among the early elementary school years; this was particularly present among Latino youth.
ISSN:0278-6133
1930-7810
DOI:10.1037/hea0001163