Susan D. Stewart

Is food insecurity related to overweight and obesity in children and adolescents? A summary of studies, 1995-2009.

In the USA, several nutrition‐related issues confront the normal growth, maturation and development of children and adolescents including obesity and food insecurity. The purpose of this paper is to provide a review of the concept of food insecurity and a summary of studies that have examined the association between food insecurity and overweight/obesity in children and adolescents. Besides the initial case report, we review 21 studies (16 cross‐sectional and five prospective studies) that have been published on this topic as of December 2009. As there is limited literature in this area, we review studies that sample children and adolescents in the USA. The results are mixed with positive, negative and null associations. The reasons for the mixed results are difficult to disentangle. Among earlier studies, small samples hampered definitive conclusions. More recent studies with larger samples have overcome these limitations and tend to find no associations between these constructs. Nonetheless, all of the studies to date have shown that food insecurity and overweight co‐exist – that is, even though there may not be statistically significant differences in overweight between food‐insecure and food‐secure children, the prevalence of overweight remains relatively high in food‐insecure children.

Boundary Ambiguity in Stepfamilies

Family boundary ambiguity refers to a lack of clarity as to who is in and who is out of the family system. Few studies have examined this concept in the stepfamily context, which is problematic because such definitional problems hinder our understanding of close relationships in stepfamilies. Based on a nationally representative sample of first-married, remarried, and cohabiting couples with minor children, this study investigates the prevalence and nature of boundary ambiguity in stepfamilies (families that include children from previous unions) and the relationship between boundary ambiguity and couples’ relationship quality and stability. Results suggest that boundary ambiguity is much more prevalent in stepfamilies than original two-parent families and that boundary ambiguity is associated with the structure of the stepfamily. Boundary ambiguity is negatively associated with the quality of the couple’s relationship and stability of the union, but only from the perspective of wives and female partners.

Parental Divorce, Social Capital, and Postbaccalaurate Educational Attainment Among Young Adults:

Educational attainment is lower among children with divorced parents than those with continuously married parents. Most research has focused on the educational outcomes of children and little research has examined the effect of parental divorce on educational attainment beyond a bachelor’s degree. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997, we investigated how parental divorce affects young adult postbaccalaureate educational attainment, measured by graduate/professional school enrollment and attainment of a graduate/professional degree. We also examined the role of social capital, measured by parental educational expectations. Parental divorce was negatively associated with enrolling in a graduate/professional program and obtaining a degree. Parental educational expectations were positively related to children’s postbaccalaureate educational attainment, but the expectations of divorced and continuously married parents were similar and did not explain the negative effect of parental divorce. More work is needed to investigate explanations for lower postbaccalaureate educational attainment among children of divorce.

Economic Stressors and Childhood Obesity: Differences by Child Age and Gender

Childhood obesity is a public health challenge in the United States (U.S.) and elsewhere in the world. Additionally, those who are obese are heavier than in the past (Anderson & Butcher, 2006). In the U.S., one in three children is overweight or obese (Ogden et al., 2010), a prevalence that has tripled since 1970 (Anderson & Butcher, 2006; Kumanayika & Grier, 2006; Wang & Zhang, 2006). In response to this public health issue, Healthy People 2010 (US/DHHS, 2000) and President Obama (US/Office of the President, 2010) have identified childhood obesity as a national health priority as it has immediate consequences for a child’s physical and psychological health (Puhl & Latner, 2007; Raman, 2002; Strauss, 1999; US/DHHS, 2000), as well as implications for future health (Freedman et al., 2007; Raman, 2002; Strauss, 1999; US/DHHS, 2000). Beyond negative health outcomes, there are also economic costs (e.g., greater need for health care) associated with childhood obesity (Marder & Chang 2006; Skinner et al., 2008). Thus, identifying factors related to childhood obesity not only has implications for the health and quality of life of children, but it also has important implications for family expenditures and health care costs.