TABLE 1—
Exposure to Risk and Protective Factors for High Body Mass Index in Early Childhood Among Non-Hispanic Whites and Black Children Observed From Birth to Age 4 or 5 Years: Early Childhood Longitudinal Study 2001 and Children and Young Adults of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 Cohort, United States
| ECLS-B |
NLSY79-CYA |
|||||||
| Variable | White (n = 2400), % or Mean | Black (n = 900), % or Mean | Total (n = 3300), % or Mean | Pa | White (n = 1068), % or Mean | Black (n = 447), % or Mean | Total (n = 1515), % or Mean | Pa |
| Outcome variable | ||||||||
| High BMI at age 4–5 y | <.001 | .053 | ||||||
| Yes | 12.1 | 19.0 | 13.4 | 12.9 | 16.9 | 13.4 | ||
| No | 87.9 | 81.0 | 86.6 | 87.1 | 83.1 | 86.6 | ||
| Survey sample control variables | ||||||||
| Year of observation | 2006.3 | 2006.3 | 2006.3 | .246 | 1996.3 | 1995.8 | 1996.3 | .029 |
| Birth order (mean) | 1.9 | 2.2 | 2.0 | <.001 | 2.0 | 2.6 | 2.1 | <.001 |
| Mother’s age at child’s birth, y | <.001 | <.001 | ||||||
| ≤ 24 | 29.9 | 51.0 | 34.0 | 5.6 | 10.5 | 6.2 | ||
| 25–29 | 27.7 | 23.1 | 26.8 | 41.4 | 48.8 | 42.2 | ||
| 30–34 | 28.2 | 16.4 | 25.9 | 38.5 | 27.0 | 37.1 | ||
| ≥ 35 | 14.2 | 9.5 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 13.7 | 14.4 | ||
| Sociodemographic variables | ||||||||
| Mother’s education at child’s birth, y | <.001 | <.001 | ||||||
| < 12 | 9.5 | 25.0 | 12.5 | 4.4 | 14.3 | 5.6 | ||
| 12 | 29.5 | 42.1 | 32.0 | 37.1 | 37.7 | 37.1 | ||
| 13–15 | 24.9 | 20.8 | 24.1 | 23.6 | 35.1 | 24.9 | ||
| ≥ 16 | 36.1 | 12.1 | 31.4 | 35.0 | 12.9 | 32.4 | ||
| Family/household income when child was aged 4 y,b $ | <.001 | <.001 | ||||||
| < 25 000 | 23.5 | 61.2 | 30.9 | 12.6 | 46.6 | 16.6 | ||
| 25 000–49 999 | 21.5 | 19.8 | 21.1 | 26.0 | 25.7 | 26.0 | ||
| 50 000–74 999 | 18.2 | 8.1 | 16.2 | 29.8 | 14.0 | 27.9 | ||
| ≥ 75 000 | 36.8 | 11.0 | 31.7 | 31.6 | 13.8 | 29.5 | ||
| Mother’s marital status | <.001 | <.001 | ||||||
| Unmarried when child was aged 0, 2, or 4 y | 27.5 | 75.6 | 36.9 | 16.7 | 62.3 | 22.1 | ||
| Married when child was aged 0, 2, and 4 y | 72.5 | 24.4 | 63.1 | 83.3 | 37.7 | 77.9 | ||
| Gender of child | .686 | .553 | ||||||
| Male | 49.2 | 50.2 | 49.4 | 51.6 | 53.6 | 51.9 | ||
| Female | 50.8 | 49.8 | 50.6 | 48.4 | 46.4 | 48.1 | ||
| Prenatal and perinatal variables | ||||||||
| Mother’s cigarette smoking during pregnancy, packs/d | .784 | .83 | ||||||
| None or < 1 | 98.4 | 98.6 | 98.5 | 93.4 | 93.8 | 93.5 | ||
| ≥ 1 | 1.6 | 1.4 | 1.5 | 6.6 | 6.2 | 6.5 | ||
| Mother’s prepregnancy BMI | <.001 | <.001 | ||||||
| Normal (< 25 kg/m2) | 62.2 | 53.2 | 60.4 | 70.1 | 54.5 | 68.2 | ||
| Overweight (25–29.9 kg/m2) | 24.7 | 22.7 | 24.4 | 17.4 | 28.6 | 18.7 | ||
| Obese (≥ 30 kg/m2) | 13.1 | 24.1 | 15.2 | 12.5 | 16.8 | 13.0 | ||
| Birth weight, g | <.001 | .001 | ||||||
| Low (< 2500) | 6.4 | 12.6 | 7.6 | 7.2 | 13.8 | 8.0 | ||
| Normal (2500–4000) | 82.2 | 83.2 | 82.4 | 77.7 | 76.1 | 77.5 | ||
| High (> 4000) | 11.3 | 4.1 | 9.9 | 15.1 | 10.1 | 14.5 | ||
| Preterm birth, wk gestation | <.001 | .096 | ||||||
| ≥ 37 | 90.2 | 84.1 | 89.0 | 87.2 | 83.6 | 86.8 | ||
| < 37 | 9.8 | 15.9 | 11.0 | 12.8 | 16.4 | 13.2 | ||
| Early life environment variables | ||||||||
| Breastfeeding duration, mo | <.001 | <.001 | ||||||
| None or < 1 | 28.2 | 52.4 | 32.9 | 33.3 | 68.4 | 37.4 | ||
| 1–7 | 51.6 | 40.0 | 49.3 | 15.5 | 13.1 | 15.3 | ||
| ≥ 8 | 20.2 | 7.7 | 17.8 | 51.2 | 18.5 | 47.3 | ||
| Family meals or dinner, d/wk | <.001 | <.001 | ||||||
| < 7 at age 2 or 4 y | 59.2 | 68.7 | 61.1 | 45.2 | 70.6 | 48.2 | ||
| 7 at age 2 and 4 y | 40.8 | 31.3 | 38.9 | 54.8 | 29.4 | 51.8 | ||
| Weekday TV viewing at age 4 y, h | <.001 | <.001 | ||||||
| ≤ 4 | 88.9 | 72.1 | 85.6 | 74.8 | 51.2 | 72.0 | ||
| > 4 | 11.1 | 27.9 | 14.4 | 25.2 | 48.8 | 28.0 | ||
| Mother’s employment status in child's first year | <.001 | <.001 | ||||||
| Unemployed/out of labor force | 43.3 | 38.3 | 42.3 | 41.2 | 47.2 | 41.9 | ||
| Part-time (< 35 h/wk) | 24.4 | 17.0 | 22.9 | 22.5 | 6.4 | 20.6 | ||
| Full-time (≥ 35 h/wk) | 32.3 | 44.8 | 34.8 | 36.3 | 46.4 | 37.5 | ||
| Child care in child's first year | <.001 | .015 | ||||||
| No nonparent care | 50.4 | 33.4 | 47.1 | 52.1 | 50.2 | 51.9 | ||
| Relative care | 21.3 | 34.6 | 23.9 | 18.6 | 22.2 | 19.0 | ||
| Nonrelative care | 18.4 | 16.4 | 18.0 | 21.6 | 15.5 | 20.9 | ||
| Center care | 8.9 | 14.1 | 9.9 | 7.5 | 11.4 | 8.0 | ||
| Other | 1.0 | 1.5 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 0.2 | ||
Note. BMI = body mass index; ECLS-B = Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, 2001 Birth Cohort; NLSY79-CYA = Children and Young Adults of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1979 cohort. High BMI was defined as BMI at or above the 95th percentile according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention age- and gender-adjusted references.1 All values are weighted percentages of the group, with the exception of mean year of survey and mean birth order. Standard errors adjusted for clustering of children within families. Unweighted sample sizes for the ECLS-B were rounded to comply with National Center for Education Statistics confidentiality requirements.
Pearson χ2 statistics for racial difference.
Inflation adjusted to year 2000 dollars according to the Consumer Price Index.29