Snacking, sugar-sweetened beverage consumption and child obesity in low-income households

Purpose Snacking contributes to one-quarter of children’s total daily energy intake in the USA, with many snack foods being nutrient-poor and energy-dense. Snacking and sugary beverage consumption have been identified as potential contributors to childhood overweight and obesity and may play a particularly important role among children from socioeconomically disadvantaged households that generally display higher rates of obesity. This exploratory study investigated associations between consumption of snack foods, sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) and overweight and obesity in children from low-income households. Design/methodology/approach Data from households that participated in a multi-state cost-offset (CO-CSA) community supported agriculture intervention in 2016 and 2017 (n = 305) were analyzed. Fixed effect regression models were used to estimate associations between child monthly consumption of salty snack foods; sweet snack foods and SSBs; and child weight status, accounting for demographic characteristics. Findings No associations were found between snack or SSB consumption and child overweight. However, household income was significantly, negatively related to all three consumption variables (Salty snacks: ß = −0.09, SE = 0.04, p = 0.02; Sweet snacks: ß= −0.10, SE = 0.04, p = 0.01; SSB: ß= −0.21, SE = 0.05, p = 0.0001). The results suggest that household income may play an important role in children’s snacking and SSB behaviors among more disadvantaged households. Practical implications Factors beyond snack food and SSB consumption should be explored to better understand childhood overweight and obesity, and to inform future obesity interventions. Originality/value Socioeconomic disparities in childhood obesity are an ongoing policy-relevant issue within the USA and internationally. This study provides new information about child snacking behaviors in a unique, low-income population and contributes to the evidence base regarding the role household context in shaping child consumption behaviors.

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Prevalence of Overweight/Obesity and Associated Factors Among Under-Five Children in Ethiopia: Evidence From the 2019 Ethiopia Mini Demographic and Health Survey (Emdhs); A Multilevel Analysis

10.21203/rs.3.rs-724918/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Mathewos Alemu Gebremichael ◽

Melkamu Merid Mengesha ◽

Samuel Hailegebrea’l ◽

Hanan Abdulkadir ◽

Biruk Bogale Wolde

Keyword(s):

Health Survey ◽

Low Income ◽

Associated Factors ◽

Childhood Overweight ◽

Overweight And Obesity ◽

The Body ◽

Demographic And Health Survey ◽

Under Five ◽

Under Five Children ◽

Childhood Overweight And Obesity

Abstract Background: Childhood overweight and obesity are emerging public health challenges of the 21st century. There was a 24% increase in the number of overweight children under the age of five years in low-income countries. Despite the significant risk of childhood overweight/obesity for non-communicable diseases, premature death, disability, and reproductive disorders in their adult life, little attention has been given. Therefore, we aimed to assess the prevalence of overweight/obesity and associated factors among under-five children. Methods: This study was conducted using data from a nationally representative sample of the 2019 Ethiopia Mini Demographic and Health Survey (EMDHS). The Mini EDHS was a community-based cross-sectional study that covered all the administrative regions of Ethiopia. The data collection was conducted between March 21, 2019, to June 28, 2019. Both descriptive and analytic findings were produced using STATA version 14. For associated factors, a multilevel binary logistic regression model was fitted to account for the hierarchical nature of the data. Adjusted odds ratio (aOR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was reported to show the strength of association and statistical significance. Results: A total 5,164 under-five children were included in this study. The overall prevalence of overweight/obesity was 2.14 % (95% CI; 1.74-2.53) (more than two standard deviations (+2SD) above the median of the reference population) based on the body mass index (BMI) Z-score. The odds of overweight/obesity was higher among children aged less than 6 months (aOR= 5.19; 95%CI: 2.98-9.04), 6-24 months (aOR = 1.97; 95%CI: 1.18-3.29), delivered by caesarean section (aOR = 1.75; 95% CI: 1.84-3.65), living in Addis Ababa city (aOR = 2.16; 95%CI: 1.59-7.81), Oromia region (aOR = 1.93; 95CI: 1.71-5.24), having mothers with the age 40-49 years (aOR = 3.91; 95%CI: 1.90-16.92), uses traditional contraceptive methods (aOR = 2.63; 95%CI: 1.66-10.47), and households headed by male (aOR = 1.71; 95%CI: 1.84-3.48). Conclusion: This study showed that childhood overweight/obesity is the problem in Ethiopia. There was an interplay of several factors that affect childhood obesity including child factors, maternal socio-demography, and healthcare utilization, and geography of residence. Therefore, strategies to reduce childhood overweight and obesity should consider a multitude of contributing factors.

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Engaging Control Group Low-income Mexican Origin Families in a Federally Funded USDA NIFA Study of Childhood Overweight and Obesity: CBPR Methodology and Lessons Learned

Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior ◽

10.1016/j.jneb.2013.04.217 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 45 (4) ◽

pp. S81-S82

Author(s):

Yvette G. Flores ◽

R.D. Manzo ◽

A. de la Torre

Keyword(s):

Low Income ◽

Childhood Overweight ◽

Overweight And Obesity ◽

Lessons Learned ◽

Control Group ◽

Mexican Origin ◽

Federally Funded ◽

Childhood Overweight And Obesity

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The development of a tool to monitor integrated care for childhood overweight and obesity in the Netherlands

Journal of Integrated Care ◽

10.1108/jica-05-2020-0028 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Author(s):

Leandra Koetsier ◽

Monique Jacobs ◽

Jutka Halberstadt ◽

Marian Sijben ◽

Nick Zonneveld ◽

...

Keyword(s):

The Netherlands ◽

Integrated Care ◽

Design Methodology ◽

Childhood Overweight ◽

Overweight And Obesity ◽

Digital Tool ◽

Content Type ◽

Childhood Overweight And Obesity ◽

National Model ◽

Step Study

PurposeThe development of a national model has led municipalities in the Netherlands to implement integrated care for childhood overweight and obesity. To monitor how this approach is being implemented locally, an appropriate tool is required. This study presents a “Tool to monitor the local implementation of Integrated Care for Childhood Overweight and obesity” (TICCO).Design/methodology/approachA three-step study was conducted in order to adapt and refine a generic integrated care questionnaire into a tool that suits the specific characteristics and context of integrated care for childhood overweight and obesity. The three consecutive steps comprised the following: a focus group session that assessed the relevance and comprehensiveness of the original integrated care instrument; a pilot questionnaire for end users that evaluated the feasibility of the preliminary tool and a pilot questionnaire that determined the feasibility and potential limitations of this adapted tool.FindingsThe adaptation process resulted in a 47-element digital tool for professionals actively involved in providing integrated care for childhood overweight and obesity. The results highlighted differences pertaining to how individual respondents judged each of the elements. These variations were found across both municipalities and different domains of integrated care.Originality/valueThis article presents an adapted tool that seeks to both support local discussion in the interpretation of individual TICCO scores and identify potential areas for improvement in local integrated care for childhood overweight and obesity.

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Broadband adoption in urban and suburban California: information-based outreach programs ineffective at closing the digital divide

Journal of Information Communication and Ethics in Society ◽

10.1108/jices-04-2020-0041 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 18 (3) ◽

pp. 431-459

Author(s):

Lloyd Levine

Keyword(s):

Digital Divide ◽

Low Income ◽

Program Effectiveness ◽

Low Cost ◽

Vast Number ◽

Content Type ◽

The Past ◽

The Usa ◽

Using Data ◽

Low Income Households

Purpose The digital divide has persisted in California and the USA as a whole at approximately the same level for the past decade. This is despite multiple programs being created and billions of dollars being spent to close it. This paper examines why the efforts to date have been ineffective and to offers policy alternatives that might be more successful. Design/methodology/approach Using data from three, variable constrained projects in California, this paper examines the effectiveness of information-based outreach efforts at closing the digital divide. The projects tested various outreach and enrollment methods to see which, if any, could increase broadband adoption in low-income households. Findings This project found that providing low-income households’ information about low-cost broadband offerings was ineffective at closing the digital divide. The findings in this paper were similar to those of two other works that examined the federal Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) grants under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Practical implications The findings of this paper along with the works cited that evaluated the BTOP program should be enough to change public policy. For the past ten years, efforts to close the digital divide have focused on providing information to low-income households. However, two independent surveys show broadband adoption has remained virtually flat during that period. Social implications The digital divide brings concomitant economic and education harms and challenges that plague those unable to access information, services, educational and employment opportunities with the same ease, speed and sufficiency as their connected peers and neighbors. Those harms exacerbate the already existing education and income divides. This paper shows that without a change in strategy, those harms will persist. Originality/value This paper breaks new ground and addresses one of the weaknesses identified in existing research. To the best of author’s knowledge, this is the first paper of its type to use programs designed to generate data that can be empirically evaluated for effectiveness. Prior studies attempted to assess program effectiveness by using data generated from fully implemented government programs. However, those programs contained a vast number of unidentified variables and insufficient data collection. They were not designed to facilitate academic evaluation, and as such made a true effectiveness evaluation challenging.

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The implications of income dependent equivalence scales for measuring poverty in Sri Lanka

International Journal of Social Economics ◽

10.1108/ijse-03-2015-0061 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 43 (12) ◽

pp. 1300-1314 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Maneka Savithri Jayasinghe ◽

Christine Smith ◽

Andreas Chai ◽

Shyama Ratnasiri

Keyword(s):

Sri Lanka ◽

Food Consumption ◽

Low Income ◽

Household Income ◽

Economies Of Scale ◽

Scale Economies ◽

Equivalence Scales ◽

Content Type ◽

Urban Rural ◽

Low Income Households

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to test whether household preferences satisfy the assumption of base-independence, to examine the effects of household income on equivalence scales and thereby food consumption economies of scale and to examine how far conventional poverty rates require adjustment when scale economies in food consumption are taken into consideration. Design/methodology/approach To achieve these aims, the authors use a Pendakur (1999) adaptation of the test of base-independence, and income dependent Engel (1895) equivalence scales. Findings In Sri Lanka, the hypothesis of base-independence is rejected: the equivalence scales increase with household income both at the national and the sectoral level, that is urban, rural and estate sectors. This suggests that low-income households enjoy greater scale economies. After adjusting for scale economies, urban, rural and estate poverty headcount ratios decline by 3.2, 8.8 and 13.7, respectively, while at the national level the decline is about 8.3. Research limitations/implications The results are based on the assumption that all of the adults in the households have identical tastes, irrespective of their gender and age. Furthermore, the survey data exclude three districts in the northern province of Sri Lanka due to resettlement activities took place after the civil war. Practical implications Higher scale economies among the poor imply that poverty among low-income households is overstated when using traditional measures of poverty rates. Originality/value The novelty of this paper is that it provides insights on the effect of income on food consumption economies of scale and implications of this phenomenon on poverty estimates in the context of a developing country like Sri Lanka.

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Effectiveness of parent-centred interventions for the prevention and treatment of childhood overweight and obesity in community settings: A Systematic Review.

The JBI Database of Systematic Reviews and Implementation Reports ◽

10.11124/01938924-201008161-00003 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 8 (Supplement) ◽

pp. 1-12

Author(s):

James Bray ◽

Clare Collins ◽

Philip Morgan ◽

Tracy Burrows

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Childhood Overweight ◽

Overweight And Obesity ◽

Community Settings ◽

Childhood Overweight And Obesity ◽

Prevention And Treatment

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OP55 Childhood overweight and obesity at the start of primary school: external validation of pregnancy and early-life prediction models

10.1136/jech-2020-ssmabstracts.54 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

N Ziauddeen ◽

PJ Roderick ◽

G Santorelli ◽

J Wright ◽

NA Alwan

Keyword(s):

Primary School ◽

Early Life ◽

Life Prediction ◽

Prediction Models ◽

External Validation ◽

Childhood Overweight ◽

Overweight And Obesity ◽

Childhood Overweight And Obesity

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Tracking implementation within a community-led whole of system approach to address childhood overweight and obesity in south west Sydney, Australia

BMC Public Health ◽

10.1186/s12889-021-11288-5 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Nicola Maitland ◽

Karen Wardle ◽

Jill Whelan ◽

Bin Jalaludin ◽

Doug Creighton ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Stakeholder Engagement ◽

System Approach ◽

Action Plan ◽

Complex Interventions ◽

Childhood Overweight ◽

Overweight And Obesity ◽

Community Members ◽

Childhood Overweight And Obesity ◽

Working Groups ◽

Implementation Data

Abstract Background Obesity is a chronic disease that contributes to additional comorbidities including diabetes, kidney disease and several cancers. Change4Campbelltown implemented a ‘whole of system’ approach to address childhood overweight and obesity. We present methods to track implementation and stakeholder engagement in Change4Campbelltown. Methods Change4Campbelltown aimed to build capacity among key leaders and the broader community to apply techniques from systems thinking to develop community-led actions that address childhood obesity. Change4Campbelltown comprised development of a stakeholder-informed Causal Loop Diagram (CLD) and locally-tailored action plan, formation of key stakeholder and community working groups to prioritise and implement actions, and continuous monitoring of intervention actions. Implementation data included an action register, stakeholder engagement database and key engagement activities and were collected quarterly by the project management team over 2 years of reporting. Results Engagement activities increased level of community engagement amongst key leaders, the school-sector and community members. Community-led action increased as engagement increased and this action is mapped directly to the primary point of influence on the CLD. As action spread diversified across the CLD, the geographical spread of action within the community increased. Conclusions This paper provides a pragmatic example of the methods used to track implementation of complex interventions that are addressing childhood overweight and obesity.

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