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Weighing the Toll of Food Insecurity - US News
A new study finds young children in food-insecure homes face a higher risk of poor health, but not obesity.
Researchers didn't find a direct link between household food insecurity and obesity except among kids 25 months to 36 months old, who were 24% more likely to be obese than children their age in food-secure households. It's unclear why those children saw higher obesity rates, but they might have been transitioning from baby-friendly foods to normal foods "which, in food-insecure households, may be low-cost, low nutrient-dense food," the study says.
The lack of a close tie between food insecurity and obesity may be because obesity rates have risen overall, and that growing up in a low-income environment often means kids are growing up in a less nutritious environment. A separate analysis of nearly 7,000 kids found that 18.9% of children from the poorest group were obese from 2011-2014, compared with 10.9% of those from the wealthiest group.
A new study finds young children in food-insecure homes face a higher risk of poor health, but not obesity.
Researchers didn't find a direct link between household food insecurity and obesity except among kids 25 months to 36 months old, who were 24% more likely to be obese than children their age in food-secure households. It's unclear why those children saw higher obesity rates, but they might have been transitioning from baby-friendly foods to normal foods "which, in food-insecure households, may be low-cost, low nutrient-dense food," the study says.
The lack of a close tie between food insecurity and obesity may be because obesity rates have risen overall, and that growing up in a low-income environment often means kids are growing up in a less nutritious environment. A separate analysis of nearly 7,000 kids found that 18.9% of children from the poorest group were obese from 2011-2014, compared with 10.9% of those from the wealthiest group.