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The relationship between childhood obesity and food insecurity: a nonparametric analysis

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  • Oluyemisi Kuku
  • Steven Garasky
  • Craig Gundersen

Abstract

Childhood obesity and food insecurity are major public health concerns in the United States and other developed countries. Research on the relationship between the two has provided mixed results across a variety of data sets and empirical methods. Common throughout this research, however, is the use of parametric frameworks for empirical analyses. This study moves beyond parametric methods by examining the relationship between childhood obesity and food insecurity among low-income children with nonparametric regression techniques. We examine data from the Child Development Supplement (CDS) of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID), a nationally representative data set from the US. Consistent with recent work, our parametric analyses indicate that there is no statistically significant relationship between childhood obesity and food insecurity. In contrast, our nonparametric results indicate that the probability of being obese varies markedly with the level of food insecurity being experienced by the child. Moreover, this relationship differs across relevant subgroups including those defined by gender, race/ethnicity and income. Fully understanding the relationship between childhood obesity and food insecurity has significant policy implications.

Suggested Citation

  • Oluyemisi Kuku & Steven Garasky & Craig Gundersen, 2012. "The relationship between childhood obesity and food insecurity: a nonparametric analysis," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(21), pages 2667-2677, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:applec:44:y:2012:i:21:p:2667-2677
    DOI: 10.1080/00036846.2011.566192
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    1. Youth, 2005. "Preventing Childhood Obesity Health in the Balance," Mathematica Policy Research Reports ce206c664e4e4d95a510b0692, Mathematica Policy Research.
    2. Craig Gundersen & David Ribar, 2011. "Food Insecurity And Insufficiency At Low Levels Of Food Expenditures," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 57(4), pages 704-726, December.
    3. Committee on Prevention of Obesity in Children & Youth of which Robert C. Whitaker is a member, "undated". "Preventing Childhood Obesity: Health in the Balance," Mathematica Policy Research Reports 655b9b55a39f4db1a879cc8bb, Mathematica Policy Research.
    4. Nord, Mark & Andrews, Margaret S. & Carlson, Steven, 2009. "Household Food Security in the United States, 2008," Economic Research Report 55953, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
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    1. Dané Coetzee & Wilmarié du Plessis & Deidré van Staden, 2021. "Longitudinal Effects of Excessive Weight and Obesity on Academic Performance of Primary School Boys in Different Socio-Economic Statuses: The NW-CHILD Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(17), pages 1-15, August.
    2. Maryia Bakhtsiyarava & Tim G. Williams & Andrew Verdin & Seth D. Guikema, 2021. "A nonparametric analysis of household-level food insecurity and its determinant factors: exploratory study in Ethiopia and Nigeria," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 13(1), pages 55-70, February.
    3. Davis, Will & Kreisman, Daniel & Musaddiq, Tareena, 2023. "The Effect of Universal Free School Meals on Child BMI," IZA Discussion Papers 16387, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Ian K. McDonough & Manan Roy & Punarjit Roychowdhury, 2020. "Exploring the dynamics of racial food security gaps in the United States," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 18(2), pages 387-412, June.
    5. Daniel Millimet & Manan Roy, 2015. "Partial identification of the long-run causal effect of food security on child health," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 48(1), pages 83-141, February.
    6. Deborah Schlichting & Ladan Hashemi & Cameron Grant, 2019. "Infant Food Security in New Zealand: A Multidimensional Index Developed from Cohort Data," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-13, January.

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