Associations Between Boys’ Early Childhood Exposure to Family and Neighborhood Poverty and Body Mass Index in Early Adolescence

Objective To test relations between exposure to poverty, in the forms of family income and neighborhood deprivation, during three developmental stages, and children’s body mass index (BMI) in early adolescence. Methods Data came from a longitudinal sample of racially diverse, urban, low-income boys. Interactions between family income to needs and census-derived neighborhood deprivation at three developmental stages—early childhood (18 and 24 months), preschool-to-school entry (3.5 and 6 years), and school-age (8 and 10 years)—were tested in relation to BMI at age 11. Results There was a significant interaction whereby higher income predicted lower BMI only in the context of low levels of neighborhood deprivation in early childhood. In high-deprivation neighborhoods, higher income was associated with risk for overweight/obesity in early adolescence. This pattern was found to be specific to income and neighborhood deprivation measured in early childhood. Conclusions Findings have implications for policy relevant to obesity prevention. More research on associations between early exposure to poverty and later risk for obesity on low-income samples is warranted, as the relationship is likely complex and influenced by many different factors, including the family and neighborhood food environments and child health behaviors.