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The more the heavier? Family size and childhood obesity in the U.S

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  • Datar, Ashlesha

Abstract

Childhood obesity remains a top public health concern and understanding its drivers is important for combating this epidemic. Contemporaneous trends in declining family size and increasing childhood obesity in the U.S. suggest that family size may be a potential contributor, but limited evidence exists. Using data from a national sample of children in the U.S. this study examines whether family size, measured by the number of siblings a child has, is associated with child BMI and obesity, and the possible mechanisms at work. The potential endogeneity of family size is addressed by using several complementary approaches including sequentially introducing of a rich set of controls, subgroup analyses, and estimating school fixed-effects and child fixed-effects models. Results suggest that having more siblings is associated with significantly lower BMI and lower likelihood of obesity. Children with siblings have healthier diets and watch less television. Family mealtimes, less eating out, reduced maternal work, and increased adult supervision of children are potential mechanisms through which family size is protective of childhood obesity.

Suggested Citation

  • Datar, Ashlesha, 2017. "The more the heavier? Family size and childhood obesity in the U.S," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 180(C), pages 143-151.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:180:y:2017:i:c:p:143-151
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2017.03.035
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    2. Alexander Bentley, R. & Ruck, Damian J. & Fouts, Hillary N., 2020. "U.S. obesity as delayed effect of excess sugar," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 36(C).
    3. Tian, Xu & von Cramon-Taubadel, Stephan, 2020. "Are only children in China more likely to be obese/overweight than their counterparts with siblings?," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 37(C).
    4. R. Alexander Bentley & Paul Ormerod & Damian J. Ruck, 2018. "Recent origin and evolution of obesity-income correlation across the United States," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 4(1), pages 1-14, December.
    5. Liisa T. Laine & Ari Hyytinen, 2022. "Temporary and persistent overweight and long-term labor market outcomes," International Journal of Health Economics and Management, Springer, vol. 22(2), pages 181-203, June.
    6. Costa-Font, Joan & Jofre-Bonet, Mireia, 2020. "Is the intergenerational transmission of overweight ‘gender assortative’?," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 39(C).

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