| Project: Obesity in Low-Income Mothers and Children |
| Award Year: 1999 |
| Amount of award, fiscal 1999: $350,000.00 |
| Institution: Children’s Hospital Medical Center |
| Principal Investigator: Robert Whitaker |
| Status: Completed |
| Detailed Objective: This work analyzes and improves our understanding of the determinants of childhood
obesity. Information from this project will be used to identify those infants
participating in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants,
and Children (WIC) who are most likely to be overweight by 4 years of age. The
prevalence of obesity in children, especially low-income children, is increasing.
Childhood obesity increases the risk of adult obesity, which is associated with
increased morbidity and other health problems. Once obesity develops at any
age, it is difficult to treat. The current state of knowledge is limited for
determining which newborns in WIC are the most likely to be overweight by 4
years of age. If those children at the highest risk of becoming an obese child
could be identified at birth, then targeted prevention efforts could begin.
Among the potential risk factors to be examined are the presence of an obese
parent or an overweight sibling. The work will utilize 1988 to 2001 data that
links birth certificate data with WIC program data files from Ohio and Kentucky.
A grant was awarded to Children's Hospital Medical Center, University of Cincinnati
at a cost of $350,000 in fiscal 1999. The work is expected to be completed by
September 2002. |
| Topic: Obesity, WIC |
Output:
Bogen, D., B. Hanusa, and R. Whitaker. "The Effect of Breast-Feeding with and without Formula Use on the Risk of Obesity at 4 Years of Age," Obesity Research, Vol. 12, No. 9, September 2004.
Burdette, H., and R. Whitaker. "Neighborhood Playgrounds, Fast Food Restaurants, and Crime: Relationships to Overweight in Low-Income Preschool Children," Preventive Medicine, Vol. 38, No. 1, January 2004.
Whitaker, R. "Predicting Preschooler Obesity at Birth: The Role of Maternal Obesity in Early Pregnancy," Pediatrics, Vol. 114, No. 1, July 2004. |