Household food insecurity affects school children's growth in body mass index

Abstract

Household food insecurity is associated with greater growth in body mass index (BMI) for some children, but no study has examined its association with school‐aged children's growth in BMI during middle childhood. We examined the effect of household food insecurity on children's BMI trajectories using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Kindergarten cohort at kindergarten, 3rd, 5th, and 8th grades. We used the 2000 CDC growth charts to construct BMI z‐scores at each time point, and modeled BMI z‐score as a function of food security status and potential confounders using growth‐curve models stratified by gender. Children in food‐insecure households at kindergarten had significantly lower BMI (0.15 SD units) than children in food‐secure households, but children in food‐insecure households gained significantly more BMI over time, resulting in no difference in BMI between food‐insecure and food‐secure children at 8th grade. The stratified analysis showed a similar pattern for girls and boys. Our study shows that food insecurity differentially affects children's growth in BMI during middle childhood, suggesting children exposed to food insecurity may be on a higher BMI trajectory as they move into late adolescence than food‐secure children. Funded by the University of South Carolina.