Marilyn Batan

Advisor: Resa M. Jones, MPH, PhD

Background: The percentage of overweight children has tripled in the last 30 years. Inconsistent findings are published regarding the relationship between socioeconomic variables and being overweight in childhood

Objective: To determine whether socioeconomic variables are associated with risk of being overweight among six year olds.

Methods: Six year olds with BMI data were selected from the National Survey of Children’s Health (n=4,362). Variables were coded and a low socioeconomic index was created. Using population weights, descriptive statistics were generated and regression was utilized to assess the relationship between socioeconomic variables and being ‘at risk’ for overweight. Socioeconomic variables were also compared by risk status.

Results: Approximately 47% of the sample was ‘at risk’ of overweight (BMI ≥85 th percentile). Males and nonwhites were more likely to be ‘at risk’ than their counterparts. After adjustment, the proportion of those with Medicaid was greater among the ‘at risk’ group compared to those who are ‘not at risk’ (31.7% vs. 26.5%, p-value=0.0001). Those ‘at risk’ were also more likely to have free/reduced-cost breakfast/lunch (59.4% vs. 49.9%, p-value=<0.0001). A greater proportion of children were at or below poverty level in the ‘at risk’ group compared to those ‘not at risk’ (24.6% vs. 20.7%, p-value=0.0013). Overall, those ‘at risk’ had a higher mean low socioeconomic index score than those ‘not at risk’ (2.4 vs. 2.2 p-value=0.0257). No other statistically significant differences in socioeconomic variables were found by ‘at risk’ status.

Conclusion: Several low socioeconomic indicators as well as a composite index are associated with being ‘at risk’ for childhood overweight. With the current obesity epidemic, governmental agencies should identify vulnerable populations and target interventions.