Does Family Instability Make Girls Fat? Gender Differences Between Instability and Weight

Hernandez, Daphne C.; Pressler, Emily; Dorius, Cassandra; Mitchell, Katherine

doi:10.1111/jomf.12080

Cited by 20 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 91 publications

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“…Maternal height and weight were directly assessed and used to calculate maternal BMI (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, ). A continuous maternal BMI measurement was included to control for the intergenerational transmission of weight status (Crossman, Sullivan, & Benin, ; Gibson et al., ; Hernandez, Pressler, Dorius, & Mitchell, ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Maternal concerns and perceptions of elementary school‐age children's weight status

Hernandez

Reesor

Kabiri

2017

Specialist Pediatric Nursing

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In order for school-based childhood obesity prevention and intervention programs to be successful, parents must accurately perceive their elementary school-age child's weight status. School nurses can be vital to these efforts through proper training and resources. Nurses can use the "School Nurse Childhood Obesity Toolkit" and motivational interviewing techniques to address parental concerns and perceptions prior to teaching behavior modification strategies to children/families.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Maternal concerns and perceptions of elementary school‐age children's weight status

Hernandez

Reesor

Kabiri

2017

Specialist Pediatric Nursing

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“…Any gender difference in stress and body mass may have its origins in childhood but evidence on gender differences in stress and weight gain in childhood is limited and unclear. For example, a few studies suggest that family stress, financial stress and peer problems experienced in childhood are more likely to lead to weight gain for girls than boys (Hernandez et al., 2014; Hernandez & Pressler, 2015; Vanaelst et al, 2014), yet childhood exposure to maternal risky health behaviors is more likely to promote boys’ weight gain than girls’ (Hernandez & Pressler, 2015). Moreover, potential gender differences in childhood stress effects that are not apparent by adolescence may emerge later in life although empirical evidence on this point is rare.…”

Section: Gender Differencementioning

confidence: 99%

“…A separate literature on childhood stress suggests that higher levels of childhood stress are associated with greater weight gain from childhood to adolescence (Gundersen et al, 2011; Shankardass et al, 2014; Stenhammar et al, 2010; Wells et al, 2010), with limited and mixed evidence for gender differences in this association (see Hernandez et al, 2014; Hernandez & Pressler, 2015; Vanaelst et al, 2014). Previous studies have not considered whether stress trajectories that begin in childhood and fluctuate throughout adulthood are connected in ways that have long-term consequences for stability and change in body mass throughout the life course, or whether these processes unfold in different ways by gender (Gundersen et al, 2011).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Gender, stress in childhood and adulthood, and trajectories of change in body mass

Liu

Umberson

2015

Social Science & Medicine

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Despite substantial evidence of the linkage between stress and weight change, previous studies have not considered how stress trajectories that begin in childhood and fluctuate throughout adulthood may work together to have long-term consequences for weight change. Working from a stress and life course perspective, we investigate the linkages between childhood stress, adulthood stress and trajectories of change in body mass (i.e., Body Mass Index, BMI) over time, with attention to possible gender variation in these processes. Data are drawn from a national longitudinal survey of the Americans’ Changing Lives (N=3,617). Results from growth curve analyses suggest that both women and men who experienced higher levels of childhood stress also report higher levels of stress in adulthood. At the beginning of the study period, higher levels of adulthood stress are related to greater BMI for women but not men. Moreover, women who experienced higher levels of childhood stress gained weight more rapidly throughout the 15-year study period than did women who experienced less childhood stress, but neither childhood nor adulthood stress significantly modified men’s BMI trajectories. These findings add to our understanding of how childhood stress—a more important driver of long-term BMI increase than adult stress—reverberates throughout the life course to foster cumulative disadvantage in body mass, and how such processes differ for men and women. Results highlight the importance of considering sex-specific social contexts of early childhood in order to design effective clinical programs that prevent or treat overweight and obesity later in life.

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“…Another intervention found targeting co-parent relationships could also influence the parent-child relationship and child well-being outcomes. More specifically, Hernandez, Pressler, Dorius, and Mitchell (2014) found that family instability, including formations and dissolutions of parental partnerships in the home, put young girls at greater risk of being overweight or obese as young adults. These stressors to the family system may place these girls at higher risk of developing obesogenic food behaviors .…”

Section: Co-parentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…21 Specifically, co-parent relationship instability has been associated with increased obesity risk among young girls. 22 Thus, if a mother perceives misalignment with her co-parent in parenting decisions, this challenge in the co-parent relationship may also be associated with more frequent obesogenic behaviors in the home.…”

Section: Co-parent Influencesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Family systems associations with obesogenic behaviors among rural Latino and White families

Routh

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Although obesity rates in the United States seem to be stabilizing on the national level, obesity risk continues to grow, especially among rural, low-income Latino youth. Parents play an important role in shaping children's early food behaviors. While risky and effective obesogenic parenting behaviors are well documented, less research has explored variations and perceptions in food parenting among diverse populations. This study explores perceptions and behaviors across 21 Latina immigrant mothers with low incomes living in two rural communities. Family profile analysis was used to identify patterns of food parenting agency within mixed methods data. Mothers with high food parenting agency tended to report fewer obesogenic food parenting behaviors, take more behavior change action, report adaptive behaviors from childhood, and have better views of their current food environment. Mothers with lower food parenting agency had more obesogenic behaviors and described more contextual challenges. Hence, diversity in food parenting agency should be considered in future research and obesity prevention.

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Does Family Instability Make Girls Fat? Gender Differences Between Instability and Weight

Abstract: Data from the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth and the Young

Cited by 20 publications

References 91 publications

Maternal concerns and perceptions of elementary school‐age children's weight status

Maternal concerns and perceptions of elementary school‐age children's weight status

Gender, stress in childhood and adulthood, and trajectories of change in body mass

Family systems associations with obesogenic behaviors among rural Latino and White families

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