Association between socioeconomic household level and z‐score of BMI in children: results of a longitudinal study (624.14)

Abstract

Improvements in socioeconomic conditions in countries in transition tend to be accompanied by increases in the prevalence of overweight and obesity. Peru is experiencing important macroeconomic changes that are modifying living conditions of households, which may have affected the prevalence of obesity. To estimate the effect of socioeconomic status on children´s weight, we used data of Niños del Milenio, part of the Young Lives Study, a longitudinal study of childhood poverty representing the poorest 95% of districts in Peru. In 2002, 2052 children 6‐17 months were enrolled, visited and measured again in 2006 and 2010. We used mixed models to evaluate the association between BMI and household socioeconomic level, food expenditures, and maternal education. The BMI z‐score was significantly positively associated with household income terciles and maternal education level. These associations were strongest in the third round, and between the third and first income terciles (+0.31 + 0.05, p<0.000), and between level of maternal education (high school vs. elementary/no illiterate: +0.39 + 0.07, p<0.000). BMI z‐score in round 3 was higher in households that spent more on ultra‐processed food (third vs. first terciles: +0.24 + 0.05, p<0.000) and on foods eaten away from home (spent/no spent: +0.11 + 0.04, p=0.016). This study reinforces the importance of continued vigilance and policies to increase the availability and consumption of healthier foods to reduce childhood overweight and obesity.