Food “insecurity” not tied to kids’ obesity risk

By Amy Norton

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Children whose families have
trouble putting food on the table do not appear to be at
increased risk of obesity, new study findings suggest.

Though it may seem counterintuitive, there is evidence that
food “insecurity” in lower-income families can contribute to
excessive weight gain. Studies have found that women who lack
the money and resources for enough nutritious food are more
likely than other women to be overweight.

Researchers speculate that there are several potential
reasons for this. It’s possible that people tend to
“overcompensate” and eat excessively when food is less scarce,
such as the point in the month when families receive food
stamps.

Then there’s the fact that many high-calorie, nutritionally
sparse processed foods are relatively cheap, and so may become
staple foods for some low-income families.

But the new study, published in the journal Pediatrics,
suggests that for children, food insecurity is not the obesity
risk factor it appears to be for adult women. In fact, children
from families that had trouble buying enough food were 20
percent less likely than their peers to be overweight.

That doesn’t mean, however, that food insecurity is no
health threat to children.

Though the current study did not assess children’s overall
health, past research has linked food insecurity to poorer
physical and mental health, as well as poorer school
performance, according to lead author Dr. Donald Rose of Tulane
University in New Orleans.

Food insecurity, he told Reuters Health, means not only a
lack of calories, but a lack of quality foods that meet the
body’s nutritional needs.

Still, when it comes to the battle against childhood
obesity, factors other than food insecurity seem to be the best
targets, according to Rose.

In this study, lack of exercise, excessive TV time and low
income in general were some of the factors that did seem to
boost children’s risk of being overweight.

The findings are based on a nationally representative study
by the U.S. Department of Education that included nearly 17,000
kindergarteners. Researchers measured the children’s weight and
height, and families completed a standard questionnaire used to
gauge food insecurity.

Overall, about 9 percent of the children experienced food
insecurity at some point in the previous year. Across the whole
sample, roughly 11 percent of girls and 12 percent of boys were
overweight.

Though food insecurity in and of itself was not linked to
an increased risk of excess pounds, low income in general was.
Race was a factor as well; black children were at greatest
risk, followed by Latino children, whereas Asian children were
least likely to be overweight.

Two of the most significant factors were lack of exercise
and time spent in the front of the TV, the study found.
Children who were relatively inactive during their free time,
for example, were 50 percent more likely than their peers to be
overweight.

Those findings, according to Rose, point to children’s
activity levels and TV time as two of the prime targets in
fighting obesity.

SOURCE: Pediatrics, February 2006.