The Relationship of Maternal BMI and Child Body Size, Home Environment, and Food in Low-Income Minority Women and Children Participating in a Child Obesity Primary and Secondary Prevention Project

Reifsnider, Elizabeth

Purpose: The primary and secondary obesity prevention projects were developed through community-based participatory research with a local grass-roots organization and the local WIC program. Both programs focused on nutrition guidance to mothers and encouragement of more physical activity with less time devoted to screen viewing (television and computer). The projects are based on the Ecological Model of Growth (EMG).

Methods: The mothers and children were recruited through several WIC clinics within the same county. The instruments used to collect data were based on the EMG and reflected the food environment (24 hour diet recall, Household Food Inventory [HFI]), the level of stimulation in the home (HOME Screening Questionnaire [HSQ], hours of TV viewing), and maternal body size. The results from the first data collection time period for both projects are presented in this paper.

Results: The association between fiber and protein was non-significant although approaching significance; the association between fiber and fat were non-significant, and the association between fat and protein was highly significant (p <.000). There were no significant associations between types of food intake and child or maternal BMI. There were significant associations between the Household Food Inventory and the HSQ (p<.03) and between HFI and TV hours (p =.05).

Conclusion: The types of food in the home affect mother and child body size. Hours of TV watching and the level of high calorie foods in the house are positively associated. In addition, the amount of high calorie food in the household is associated with the level of stimulation in the home. This could possibly demonstrate that interactions between mother and child involve pleasurable foods (high sugar, high fat). The relationships of maternal and child body sizes may possibly be positively related to number of high calorie foods in the house although this was not conclusively shown in this project.

Supported by National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases 1R01DK096488-01A1; and National Institute of Nursing Research 7R21NR010362-04