Grandparents’ wealth and the body mass index trajectories of grandchildren

Abstract

Background The aims of this study are to (i) examine associations between grandparents' wealth and grandchild's initial body mass index (BMI) in early childhood and its subsequent growth patterns, and to (ii) assess whether the associations are similar for white and black children. Methods Data are from the U.S. Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) and its supplemental studies of Child Development Supplement (CDS) and Transition to Adulthood (TA) (N = 2,128). Three-level growth curve models are used to analyze the association between exposure to grandparental wealth in early childhood and grandchildren's BMI growth trajectories, accounting for parental sociodemographic characteristics and maternal BMI levels. Results Children with less grandparental wealth in early childhood have higher initial BMI than children with more grandparental wealth. Further, increases in grandparental wealth in childhood are associated with a slower BMI growth rate. The wealth-body mass index associations are more evident among white children than black children. Conclusions The study reveals a multigenerational social gradient to body mass index. Elevating the wealth levels of the grandparent generation could potentially reduce their grandchildren's obesity risk. The protective role of grandparental wealth seems to be more evident among white families than black families.

Cultural perspectives of stunting prevention: A systematic review

“…Most of the babysitters are housewives, and even though they live very simply with few basic needs, this grandmother tries to provide nutritious food to her grandchildren. Grandmother's wealth and economy reflect the economic resources available to the family (Huang, 2020). After attending health education to prevent stunting, it was discovered that the caregiver was trying to save money and grow vegetables and fruits for her grandchildren.…”

Parenthood: Disrupting the Intergenerational Transmission of Social Disadvantage

“…In Australia, research indicates that family circumstances are transmitted across generations. For instance, Australian children of parents who receive welfare payments are almost twice as likely to be on welfare payments as adults when compared to those who are not (Cobb-Clark et al, 2017), while other work has demonstrated the transmission of outcomes related to wealth (Lersch & Baxter, 2021), health (Huang, 2020) and education (Hancock et al, 2018). One likely mechanism for this intergenerational transmission of individual social and economic outcomes is the influence of parents and parenting.…”

Families, Life Courses and the Intergenerational Transmission of Social Disadvantage in Australia

“…Other research has focused on the transmission of educational (dis)advantage from grandparents and parents to children (Hancock et al, 2018), the transmission of health outcomes across generations (Huang, 2020;James et al, 2020), the transmission of attitudes , joblessness (Curry et al, 2019), and the transmission of wealth (Lersch & Baxter, 2020). In sum, there is clear evidence of intergenerational associations which show that the playing field is not level for all children and that if we are to fully understand and address social and economic disadvantage in Australia, we need to understand not only the life course journeys of individuals, but also their family background.…”