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

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 8-10-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 five times higher for children from food-insecure households compared with children from food-secure households (95% confidence interval 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 with families from food-secure households. A greater proportion of children from food-secure households consumed three to four snacks per day (45.9 vs. 15.4%), while a higher proportion of children from food-insecure households consumed five or more 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 over-consumption of calories. When caring for food-insecure children, healthcare providers should screen for problematic eating patterns and feeding practices.