RELATING FAMILIAL ECONOMIC, FOOD AND FITNESS BEHAVIORS TO CHILDHOOD OVERWEIGHT AND OBESITY

(WYO-00591)

The increased presence of childhood overweight and obesity in low-income households, in particular, reveals that overweight and obesity are not necessarily a problem of over abundance, but one of food insecurity. In order to understand how families navigate obesigenic environments and which decisions lead to obesity, it is important to understand the economic behavior underlying household decision processes in addition to food and fitness dynamics. The long-term of objective of this work is to identify the relationships among family economic behavior, familial attitudes and behavior regarding food, and family physical fitness attitudes and behavior in low-income families. Economic experiments, a family questionnaire, and physical health assessments will be used to accomplish this objective. A better understanding of the role that family economic behavior plays in concert with family attitudes and behaviors regarding food and eating may help define incentives needed to improve the weight status of children from low-income households.

USDA CRIS Project Information Link: 0210183