Food Insecurity and Links to Obesity in a Sample of Infants

Jacinta M.H. Bronte-Tinkew, Child Trends
Martha J. Zaslow, Child Trends
Randy Capps, Urban Institute
Allison Horowitz, Child Trends

This project examines the association between food insecurity and obesity, and determines the pathways through which this association works; and determines how these associations and pathways differ for low birth weight children, for low income families and by parental nativity. First, we analyze direct and indirect effects of food insecurity on obesity using structural equation models (SEM). Potential pathways include infant feeding practices and parenting processes (e.g., parenting behaviors and parent-child interactions). Second, we examine how the pathways from food insecurity to obesity differ based on the characteristics of children and their families, such as children with low birth weight, children from low-income families and children with foreign born parents. We use data from the 9-month and 24-month waves of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study -Birth Cohort (ECLS-B), a new nationally representative longitudinal study of children born in 2001. Data are derived from birth certificates, parental reports and child assessments.