Food Insecurity And Child And Parent/Caretaker Overweight/Obesity In A Rural, Appalachian Mississippi Community

This study examined the differences in parent/caretaker body mass index (BMI) and parent/caretaker-reported child overweight/obesity by food security status in a rural, Appalachian, Mississippi community, as well as the relationship of parent/caretaker BMI and parent/caretaker-reported child overweight/obesity to food security status. A cross-sectional survey of elementary school parents/caretakers recruited at three elementary schools in an economically-distressed Appalachian, Mississippi county was conducted. Parent/caretaker BMI was calculated from self-reported height and weight. Caretaker-reported child overweight/obesity was determined using caretaker report of a medical professional identifying child overweight/obesity within the past year. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS (version 23, 2015) to assess for differences in parent/caretaker BMI and caretaker-reported child overweight/obesity by food security status (ANOVA, Independent Samples T-test, Pearson Chi Squared), as well as the relationship of food security to BMI and child overweight/obesity (Pearson r and Kendall’s taub correlations). Parent/caretaker participants (n=467, 41% response rate) were 34±8 years and predominantly Caucasian (n=264/465, 57%), female (n=425/461, 92%), married (n=243/453, 54%), with some college or higher education (n=256/461, 56%), and living in food-secure households (n=367/455, 80%). Parent/caretaker BMI differed by food security status (p=.02), with those from food-insecure households having a significantly higher BMI (31.7kg/m2±8.0 kg/m2) than those from food-secure households (29.2±7.2). Parent/caretaker BMI was greater in food-insecure households, but prevalence of caretaker-reported child overweight/obesity was greater in food-secure households (6.8%), compared to food-insecure households (1.1%). Exploring nutrition interventions, especially in a community hub (e.g., school), that may help to alleviate household food insecurity is warranted.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.S. in Food and Nutrition Services

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Nutrition and Hospitality Management

Year dc:date.available

2018

Author dc:creator

• Antolini, Sydney

Contributors dc:contributor

• David Holben
• Yunhee Chang
• Georgianna Mann

• Appalachian
• Child
• Food Insecurity
• Obesity
• Nutrition

Repository record dc:identifier

https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/589

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:egrove.olemiss.edu:etd-1588