Premium
Residential mobility in early childhood and obesity at kindergarten age among children from the United States
Author(s) -
Krupsky Kathryn L.,
Andridge Rebecca R.,
Anderson Sarah E.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
pediatric obesity
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.226
H-Index - 69
eISSN - 2047-6310
pISSN - 2047-6302
DOI - 10.1111/ijpo.12576
Subject(s) - medicine , obesity , childhood obesity , demography , longitudinal study , early childhood , pediatrics , cohort , cohort study , gerontology , overweight , developmental psychology , psychology , pathology , sociology
Summary Background Children who frequently move have poorer behavioural, emotional, and overall health. For similar reasons, the experience of changing home may contextualize children's risk for obesity. Few studies have assessed the relationship between residential mobility and obesity; even fewer explore this relationship with assessment of obesity before school age. Methods We analysed data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study—Birth Cohort. Obesity at kindergarten age was determined from measured height and weight. Early childhood residential mobility was categorized as not moving or having moved once, twice, or three or more times. Analyses are weighted to be representative of children from the United States and variance estimates account for the complex survey design. Results The prevalence of obesity at kindergarten age was 17.5%, and most children (71%) moved in early childhood. Compared with children who did not move, the adjusted odd ratios for obesity at kindergarten age were 0.72 (95% CI, 0.57‐0.92), 0.70 (95% CI, 0.55‐0.89), and 0.64 (95% CI, 0.50‐0.84) for children who experienced 1, 2, or 3+ moves. Conclusions Our study suggests that obesity and mobility in early life are associated, but not in the way we might expect. Residential mobility may fit into a broader picture of instability and, on its own, may not elevate a child's risk for obesity.