Sociology Capstone: The Relationship Between Parents’ Socioeconomic Status and Childhood Obesity Ashley Langdon
Introduction This study investigates the relationship between parents’ socioeconomic status and childhood obesity Approximately 1/3 of children in the US are overweight or obese Why study childhood obesity? Health concerns: Obesity can lead to high blood pressure, diabetes, breathing problems, joint problems, heart disease, poor self-esteem, depression, eating disorders, bullying, and discrimination Parental influence is a major contributing factor in the diets of their children Lower incomes mean lower grocery budgets, and cheaper foods tend to be less healthy. Families who live in poor areas may also have less access to places that sell healthy foods.
Hypothesis The lower the Parent SES, the more likely children are to be overweight or obese.
Sample: World Health Organization Study Geographic Area: USA Time Period: school year Unit of Analyses: Children across the country between grades 6-9 Mode: On site questionnaire Sample Size: 9,227 students from 227 schools Response Rate: A total of 529 schools were contacted. Information was obtained from 327 schools, but only data from 227 of the schools was used. 9,227 of 10,577 eligible students participated.
Table 1
Table 2: Impact of Parental SES on Childhood Obesity Parental SES Father’s SES -.218** Mother’s SES Controls Age.007 Gender.393** Grade in School Race -.337** N=5,440 *<.05, **<.01
Main Findings 1.The lower the Father’s SES, the more likely children are to be overweight or obese. 2.Mother SES is unrelated to childhood obesity
Discussion This study investigated the relationship between parents’ socioeconomic status and childhood obesity Findings partially support the hypothesis that lower socioeconomic families are at a higher risk for obesity; fathers have more of an impact than mothers Strategies aimed at reducing childhood obesity must consider strategies aimed at increasing the social-economic resources fathers can provide to their families.