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Too Many Treats or Not Enough to Eat? The Impact of Caregiving Grandparents on Child Food Security and Nutrition

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  • Rahel Mathews

    (Department of Food Science, Nutrition and Health Promotion, Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS 39762, USA)

  • Danielle Nadorff

    (Department of Psychology, Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS 39762, USA)

Abstract

With the number of grandparent-headed households on the rise, the influence of grandparents needs to be considered in the fight to reduce child obesity. The current study investigated the influence of caregiver type (i.e., grandparents only, parents only, or multi-generational households) on children’s nutrition, food security, and BMI. This was a cross-sectional, secondary analysis based on the 2009–2010 wave of the Health Behavior in School-Aged Children (HBSC) survey in collaboration with the World Health Organization. This sample included 12,181 students from 10,837 families with only parents present in the household, 238 with only grandparents present, and 1106 multi-generational families. One-way analyses of covariance (ANCOVAs) were conducted using caregiver type as the independent variable, controlling for SES, on items assessing frequency of breakfast consumption, nutrition intake, hunger, snacking frequency and location, and BMI. Children reported more unhealthy snacking in households with only grandparents. Hunger was reported more often in multi-generational households. These results support that caregiver type, especially caregiving grandparents, is a significant predictor of children’s BMI, nutrition, and food security. Tailoring nutrition education to the needs of grandparents could help both the health of grandparents and the reduction of child obesity.

Suggested Citation

  • Rahel Mathews & Danielle Nadorff, 2022. "Too Many Treats or Not Enough to Eat? The Impact of Caregiving Grandparents on Child Food Security and Nutrition," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(10), pages 1-10, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:10:p:5796-:d:812181
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Jinfeng Zhao & Lisa Mackay & Kevin Chang & Suzanne Mavoa & Tom Stewart & Erika Ikeda & Niamh Donnellan & Melody Smith, 2019. "Visualising Combined Time Use Patterns of Children’s Activities and Their Association with Weight Status and Neighbourhood Context," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(5), pages 1-16, March.
    2. William Boyce & Torbjorn Torsheim & Candace Currie & Alessio Zambon, 2006. "The Family Affluence Scale as a Measure of National Wealth: Validation of an Adolescent Self-Report Measure," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 78(3), pages 473-487, September.
    3. Zoe N. Fokakis & Danielle K. Nadorff & Ian T. McKay, 2020. "Is Raising Your Grandchild Bad for Your Health? The Association Between Custodial Grandparent Status and Health Biomarkers in Taiwanese Grandparents," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(5), pages 1-10, March.
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