Environmental Predictors of Child Obesity: A Longitudinal Approach — China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS)

Citation:

Richards, Marie Kathleen. (2000). Environmental Predictors of Child Obesity: A Longitudinal Approach. Master's thesis / Doctoral dissertation, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

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Abstract:

The rapid transition from food shortages and hunger to food-self sufficiency and abundance has had a profound effect on health in developing countries. Among young children, infectious diseases and malnutrition are still a concern, yet child obesity is quickly arising as a formidable public health problem. Nutrient metabolism, growth, and shifts in diet composition are all affected by rapid development and have emerged as potential determinants of child obesity. This dissertation explores effects of early malnutrition and dietary changes on development of excess body fatness in young children. Longitudinal analyses were performed on samples of Chinese children using 2 year periods from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) (conducted in 1989, 1991, 1993). Changes in BMI (body mass index) and odds of overweight were assessed. The relationship between nutritional status at age 2-6 years and overweight development 2 years later was assessed. Children of shorter stature were identified as having higher incidences of overweight. Multivariate analyses linked stunting with increased odds of overweight (OR = 2.15; CI: 1.20-3.82). Furthermore, stunted children who became overweight had a slower growth rate but a higher rate of weight gain per year compared to children who were non stunted and not overweight. The possibility that nutrient metabolism is affected by malnutrition was not clear and underlying biological mechanisms could not be determined here. Further analysis of the role of diet in 4-8 year olds accounted for the age specific development of body fatness. Increases in energy, fat and protein intakes were associated with positive gains in BMI over 2 years, specifically among those with lower initial BMIs. This was apparent in children under 5 years; however, this relationship was not clear for older children. Also in children under 5 years change in dietary fat intake had a positive effect on change in BMI among those who had low initial fat intakes. Carbohydrate energy was protective against overweight development, while protein energy increased the odds of overweight. Policies improving economic growth and food security appear to beneficial and at the same time detrimental to the development of body fatness in young children.

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Reference Type:
THES

Secondary Title:

Series Title:

Author(s):
Richards, Marie Kathleen

Editor(s):

Series Author(s):
Popkin, Barry M.

Year Published:
2000

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Volume Number:
9968659

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Start Page Number:
145-145 p.

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Publisher:
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

City of Publication:
Ann Arbor

ISSN/ISBN:
0599734892; 9780599734890

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Reference ID:
1904

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