Childhood Obesity

This study is comprised of two parts exploring children’s actual eating habits, personal, familial, and environmental contributors to these eating habits, and the development of obesity in elementary school aged students. Participants were 104 children in grades 1-8 and their parents. Part I consisted of a naturalistic study of the actual food habits of school-aged children. Children’s lunches and extra snacks were categorized and weighed. Height and weight were obtained, and Body Mass Indices were calculated. Of participating children, 23% were at risk for being overweight and 19% were overweight. While a large majority of packed lunches contained less than 1/3 of the recommended dietary reference values for calories and carbohydrates, extra food purchased and eaten at school contributed to a poorer diet. Weight by age interactions revealed that overweight children purchased and consumed more calories and fat grams than their classmates within the older age groups. A categorical analysis of food types revealed that a minority of lunches contained a vegetable (9%), fruit (42%), or whole grain (22%), whereas the majority contained protein (92%), refined flour (66%), sweets (72%), and snacks (72%). Girls had more vegetables in their lunch, boys more snacks. The lunches of children of normal weight contained more dairy products. Part II was comprised of analyses using parent-reported attitudes about eating, parenting (generally and specifically about eating), and data on family habits. Parents’ attitudes were related to child weight and eating habits, but the pattern of relationship was different for mothers and fathers. Analyses using child and family habits were also significant. Child BMI was positively correlated with TV watching and negatively correlated with breakfast eating. Parent pressure to eat, nurturance, restriction, and eating attitudes were correlated with child habits. Parent BMI was correlated with child BMI. Regression analyses revealed that parent weight and hours of child TV watching were significant predictors of child weight status (parent attitudes about eating were a nonsignficant trend) and accounted for 46 percent of the variance in child weight. The results highlight the complexity of the factors influencing eating and obesity and implications of these findings for public health policy are addressed.