Co-residence with Grandparents and the Body Mass Index (BMI) during Adolescence and Early Adulthood

Citation

Lee, Haenim; Hawkins, Summer S; & Takeuchi, David (2015). Co-residence with Grandparents and the Body Mass Index (BMI) during Adolescence and Early Adulthood. American Public Health Association 143rd Annual Meeting and Exposition. Chicago, IL.

Abstract

Background: Three-generation households have become more prevalent in the United States as has adolescent obesity. Given these trends, this study examines (a) whether the presence of a grandparent in one- and two- parent households is associated with differences in body mass index (BMI) trajectories as adolescents age into emerging adulthood, and (b) to what extent adolescent race/ethnicity helps explain variations in BMI trajectories.

Methods: The data come from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health and the analytic sample consists of 10,086 adolescents who belonged to one and two-parent households with and without a grandparent present. The dependent variable is self-reported BMI from waves 1-3. The independent variable is an experience living with a grandparent under 19 years old. Family socioeconomic characteristics and health behaviors are included as control variables. Growth curve models were used to evaluate the trajectory for changes in BMI.

Results: For the first model adjusted for ethnicity, there were no differences in BMI trajectories between those adolescents who had co-residence with a grandparent and those who did not in one- or two-parent households. When the model was then stratified by ethnicity, we found that Hispanic adolescents who lived with a grandparent in two-parent households have significantly slower rates of BMI growth compared to those who have not lived with a grandparent during adolescence. The associations were not found among other ethnic groups.

Conclusions: These results suggest that co-residence with a grandparent may play an important role in reducing long-term obesity risk among Hispanic adolescents.

URL

https://apha.confex.com/apha/143am/webprogram/Paper331120.html

Reference Type

Conference proceeding

Book Title

American Public Health Association 143rd Annual Meeting and Exposition

Author(s)

Lee, Haenim
Hawkins, Summer S
Takeuchi, David

Year Published

2015

City of Publication

Chicago, IL

Reference ID

5732