Low Childhood Socioeconomic Status Promotes Eating in the Absence of Energy Need

Hill, Sarah E.; Prokosch, Marjorie L.; DelPriore, Danielle J.; Griskevicius, Vladas; Kramer, Andrew M.

doi:10.1177/0956797615621901

Cited by 119 publications

(103 citation statements)

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“…The reason for entertaining the developmental specialization version of the hypothesis is the following. A number of recent studies have found that childhood SEP predicts behavior (including behaviors relating to impulsivity and to eating) under certain circumstances, even though current adult SEP does not (Griskevicius et al, 2011a,b, 2013; Mittal and Griskevicius, 2014; Hill et al, 2016). The argument arising from these studies is that childhood experience produces some form of lasting developmental specialization or calibration.…”

Section: Versions and Testing Of The Hunger Hypothesismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The last decade has seen an increasing appreciation that, within affluent societies, socioeconomic position (SEP) is an important predictor of variation in behavioral and psychological outcomes (e.g., Griskevicius et al, 2011a,b; Kraus et al, 2012; Haushofer and Fehr, 2014; Hill et al, 2016). Demonstrations of the central importance of SEP may come as no surprise to sociologists, but within psychology, SEP had been relatively neglected as a source of variation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Does Hunger Contribute to Socioeconomic Gradients in Behavior?

Nettle

2017

Front. Psychol.

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Recent research has uncovered many examples of socioeconomic gradients in behavior and psychological states. As yet there is no theoretical consensus on the nature of the causal processes that produce these gradients. Here, I present the hunger hypothesis, namely the claim that part of the reason that people of lower socioeconomic position behave and feel as they do is that they are relatively often hungry. The hunger hypothesis applies in particular to impulsivity-hyperactivity, irritability-aggression, anxiety, and persistent narcotic use, all of which have been found to show socioeconomic gradients. I review multiple lines of evidence showing that hunger produces strong increases in these outcomes. I also review the literatures on food insufficiency and food insecurity to show that, within affluent societies, the poor experience a substantial burden of hunger, despite obtaining sufficient or excess calories on average. This leads to the distinctive prediction that hunger is an important mediator of the relationships between socioeconomic variables and the behavioral/psychological outcomes. This approach has a number of far-reaching implications, not least that some behavioral and psychological differences between social groups, though persistent under current economic arrangements, are potentially highly reversible with changes to the distribution of financial resources and food.

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Section: Versions and Testing Of The Hunger Hypothesismentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does Hunger Contribute to Socioeconomic Gradients in Behavior?

Nettle

2017

Front. Psychol.

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“…Food insecurity may also interact with variables such as income and ethnic status. For instance, low‐income children suffering from food insecurity may adapt lifelong unhealthy eating patterns (Hill, Prokosch, DelPriore, Griskevicius, & Kramer, ). Chilton et al.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of holiday clubs on household food insecurity—A pilot study

Long

Stretesky

Graham

et al. 2017

Health Soc Care Community

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This research investigates whether holiday clubs have the potential to reduce food insecurity among households in the United Kingdom. We survey parents (n = 38) of children attending seven different holiday clubs to estimate the percentage of children in those programmes who come from food insecure households. Results suggest that 42% (16 out of 38 respondents) of children come from households defined as "food insecure" and 24% (9 out of 38 respondents) come from households that are "food insecure with hunger." When secure and insecure households are compared, we discover that food insecure households benefit the most from holiday clubs, which suggests that they may play an important role in mitigating household food insecurity. K E Y W O R D Sfood policy, food poverty, food security, holiday hunger | INTRODUCTIONHoliday hunger is a condition that occurs when a child's household is, or will, become food insecure during the school holidays (Graham et al., 2016). To combat the problem of holiday hunger, holiday clubs have emerged across the UK. These holiday clubs provide meals for children, and sometimes parents, when children are not in school.Despite the rising popularity of holiday clubs, little is known about their effectiveness. The current study presents results from a portion of a larger pilot evaluation of holiday clubs on food insecurity in the UK. In this paper, we focus on the views of parents of children who attend holiday clubs. Specifically, we ask three questions about the role of holiday clubs in attenuating household food insecurity. First, are households with children attending holiday clubs more socially and economically deprived than UK households in general? Second, are households with children attending holiday club likely to suffer from food insecurity? Third, do parents of children attending holiday club believe that the clubs reduce household food insecurity? We answer these three questions by drawing upon questionnaire data that examine the perceptions of parents whose children attend seven different holiday clubs in the UK.Information about the potential role that holiday clubs play in mitigating household food insecurity is necessary if these clubs are going to form an effort for mitigating rising food insecurity across UK households. For example, if holiday clubs do not provide food for children from food insecure households, we might ask whether resources could be better spent on other food insecurity mitigation programmes. Prior to carrying out our analysis of holiday clubs, we briefly review the literature on the definition of household food insecurity and its impact on children's health and well-being.

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“…Despite recent laboratory evidence documenting overeating among low-SES people (14), we are aware of no previous studies examining the role of LHT in predicting a tendency to be overweight or obese. Moreover, although previous research is consistent with hypotheses derived from LHT, studies often have used low SES as a proxy for childhood unpredictability and have fallen short of directly examining the role of unpredictable childhood environments.…”

Section: Significancementioning

confidence: 90%

Implications of life-history strategies for obesity

Maner

Dittmann

Meltzer

et al. 2017

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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The association between low socioeconomic status (SES) and obesity is well documented. In the current research, a life history theory (LHT) framework provided an explanation for this association. Derived from evolutionary behavioral science, LHT emphasizes how variability in exposure to unpredictability during childhood gives rise to individual differences in a range of social psychological processes across the life course. Consistent with previous LHT research, the current findings suggest that exposure to unpredictability during childhood (a characteristic common to low SES environments) is associated with the adoption of a fast life-history strategy, one marked by impulsivity and a focus on short-term goals. We demonstrate that a fast life-history strategy, in turn, was associated with dysregulated weight-management behaviors (i.e., eating even in the absence of hunger), which were predictive of having a high body mass index (BMI) and being obese. In both studies, findings held while controlling for participants' current socioeconomic status, suggesting that obesity is rooted in childhood experiences. A serial mediation model in study 2 confirmed that effects of childhood SES on adult BMI and obesity can be explained in part by exposure to unpredictability, the adoption of a fast life-history strategy, and dysregulated-eating behaviors. These findings suggest that weight problems in adulthood may be rooted partially in early childhood exposure to unpredictable events and environments. LHT provides a valuable explanatory framework for understanding the root causes of obesity.evolutionary psychology | evolutionary medicine | life history theory | health behavior | obesity M ore than one third of American adults and about one third of children and adolescents are currently obese, and an even greater number are overweight (1). Obesity is a risk factor for many negative health outcomes including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, liver disease, cancer, and stroke (2). Consequently, identifying the behavioral factors that increase obesity is a key goal for research.This article provides an evolutionary perspective on obesity by using a life history theory (LHT) approach. Derived from evolutionary biology, LHT suggests that adaptive psychological processes are calibrated early in life to help people maximize their reproductive potential across the lifespan, given the contingencies they encounter in their local childhood environment (3, 4).Although existing epidemiological research has used a lifecourse perspective to understand how childhood psychosocial variables contribute to adult disease (5), no studies to our knowledge have adopted a LHT approach. Recognizing developmental factors suggested by LHT not only enhances our theoretical understanding of obesity but also generates insight into possible interventions.Work in the LHT tradition finds that the degree of unpredictability in an organism's early-life environment influences behavior in a variety of domains throughout the life course (6). LHT is roo...

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Low Childhood Socioeconomic Status Promotes Eating in the Absence of Energy Need

Cited by 119 publications

References 40 publications

Does Hunger Contribute to Socioeconomic Gradients in Behavior?

Does Hunger Contribute to Socioeconomic Gradients in Behavior?

The impact of holiday clubs on household food insecurity—A pilot study

Implications of life-history strategies for obesity

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