TRAJECTORIES OF CHILD OBESITY AND CHILD OBESITY AMONG CHILDREN IN THE US

Mary McEniry, University of Wisconsin at Madison
Aitor Garcia Aguirre, Spanish National Research Council
Nestor Aldea, Spanish Research Council (CSIC), French Institute for Demographic Studies (INED)
Yiyue Huangfu, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Haotian kuo, Institute of Geography, Economics and Demography
Hiram Beltrán-Sánchez, University of California, Los Angeles
Alberto Palloni, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Rising child obesity continues to be a major health concern. Yet, there are few studies that examine factors influencing child obesity over time and even fewer that do so among migrant and non-migrant children in the US. We first examine the time trajectory of child obesity (e.g. prevalence of obesity by gender, age, social groups) as a function of individual, household and neighborhood factors using available longitudinal data from the Panel Study on Income Dynamics (PSID-CDS, 2014-2021). We then examine similar factors that predict obesity in migrant children using the Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Study (L.A. FANS-2000-2008). At the individual level we use BMI and waist circumference along with polygenic risk scores (PRS), and sociodemographic variables. At the household level we examine sociocultural elements (e.g. parental education, diet, physical activity, household stresses, food security, poverty). At the neighborhood level, we examine neighborhood characteristics (e.g. neighborhood poverty, crime). Preliminary results show a strong association between PRS, culture, poverty, food security and child obesity. We describe how our results can be used in a larger project aiming to predict the future course of obesity and its impact on the load of adult chronic illness, disability, and mortality associated with child obesity.

Keywords: Health and Morbidity, Biodemography and genetics

See extended abstract.