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Neighborhood food access in early life and trajectories of child body mass index and obesity
Although it is unknown how living in communities with restricted availability of healthful meals contributes to childhood obesity, it remains a public health problem. This study by Aris et al. (2024) examines the association between a child’s body mass index (BMI) and the risk of obesity and neighborhood food access during pregnancy or early infancy. Cohort data from the US Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes collaboration, which ran from January 1, 1994, to March 31, 2023, were utilized in the study. Inclusion required geocoded residential addresses during pregnancy (mean 32.4 weeks) or early childhood (mean 4.3 years), along with child BMI information. The participant exposures were living in low-income, low-food-access neighborhoods—places where the closest supermarket is more than 0.5 miles distant in urban settings or more than 10 miles away in rural ones—. BMI z-score, obesity (BMI ≥95th percentile for age and sex), and severe obesity (BMI ≥120% of the 95th percentile for age and sex) were among the measurements done on individuals aged 0 to 15. During pregnancy, 23.2% and early infancy, respectively, of the 28,359 children (from 55 cohorts) resided in low-income, low-food-access communities. Even after adjusting for sociodemographic factors, living in such locations during pregnancy was linked to higher BMI z-scores and increased risks of obesity and severe obesity at ages 5, 10, and 15. Similar results were found for early childhood. These associations remained significant even with different definitions of low-income and low-food access and additional adjustments for prenatal factors associated with obesity. The authors conclude that living in low-income, low-food-access communities throughout early life was linked to a higher BMI and a higher chance of childhood obesity and severe obesity. Future studies should explore whether improving neighborhood food access could help prevent childhood obesity. [NPID: Neighborhood food access, childhood obesity, low-income neighborhoods, food insecurity, obesity risk, severe obesity]
Year: 2024
