The Determinants of Childhood Obesity: Child, Parental, Social, and Regional Influences

Billingslea, Dominique

The Determinants of Childhood Obesity: Child, Parental, Social, and Regional Influences

Persistent URL

http://hdl.handle.net/10456/36084

Author(s)

Billingslea, Dominique

Date Issued

April 2, 2014

Abstract

With a third of children classified as overweight or obese, the U.S. needs more innovative parenting strategies and governmental policies. This study examines the importance of child (exercise, sleep, hours of television, and religious attendance), parental (marital status, education, income, and weight), societal (family meals, ethnic diversity, families receiving SNAP benefits, Modified Retail Food Environment Index, and families living in safe neighborhoods), and regional (dummy variable for geographic location) characteristics on the likelihood of a child being overweight or obese. An analysis of consumer theory examines household consumption decisions based on a parental understanding of how to maximize long-term utility and avoid the negative consequences of poor nutrition and over-eating. The regression analysis, with a R2 value of 0.8203, quantifies the impacts of these variables, showing the rate of adult obesity, family meals, food retail environment, living in the South, child sleep, and perceived neighborhood safety are the most significant. These results conform to theory and correlate with past research. The evidence indicates that parents should modify their parenting strategies to focus on maintaining a healthy weight, encouraging their children to get more hours of sleep, and choosing a healthy place to live.

First Reader(s)

Casler, Stephen