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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2023 Jul 1.
Published in final edited form as: Appetite. 2022 Mar 29;174:106015. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2022.106015

Table 1.

Sociodemographic characteristics of a sample of families from low-income and racially and ethnically diverse households with children across categories of assistance (N = 1,033).

SNAP and
other assistance
programsa 		Assistance
programs other
than SNAPb 		Not enrolled
in any
assistance
program
n = 457 n = 305 n = 271 Overall
P value
Characteristics n % n % n %
Primary caregiver
 Female 423 93 269 88 241 89 0.09
 Weight status
  Normal weight (up to 24.9) 100 22 79 26 95 35 <0.001
  Overweight (25-29.9) 109 24 103 34 89 33
  Obese (30 or more) 248 54 122 40 87 32
 Race/ethnicity
  African American 164 36 69 23 26 10 <0.001
  Native American 130 28 53 17 14 5
  Somali 63 14 30 10 36 13
  Hmong 62 14 103 34 40 15
  Hispanic 20 4 36 12 140 52
  White 18 4 14 5 15 5
 Educational attainment
  Some high school or less 90 20 25 8 64 24 <0.001
  High school graduate or associate degree 240 53 140 46 108 40
  Bachelor's degree 107 23 117 38 72 27
  Graduate degree 20 4 23 8 26 10
 Employment status
  Working full-time 125 27 174 57 116 43 <0.001
  Working part-time 106 23 59 19 50 18
  Stay at home caregiver 75 16 31 10 66 24
  Currently unemployed, but actively seeking work 71 16 19 6 24 9
  Not working for pay (unable to work, retired, student, etc.) 80 18 22 7 15 6
 Born in the US
  Yes 349 76 193 63 79 29 <0.001
 Relationship status
  Married 91 20 131 42 149 55 <0.001
  Committed relationship 88 19 60 20 50 18
  Single/Separated/Divorced/Widowed 278 61 114 38 72 27
Mean SD Mean SD Mean SD
 Age, years 34.6 8.5 35.2 8.6 35.0 7.4 0.57
 BMI, kg/m2 31.3 7.5 29.7 7.1 28.3 6.8 <0.01
Child
 Girl 218 48 154 51 131 48 0.75
 Child BMI percentile 0.03
  Normal weight (<85th) 263 58 198 65 167 61
  Overweight (85th-95th) 75 16 49 16 56 21
  Obese (>=95th) 119 26 58 19 48 18
Mean SD Mean SD Mean SD
 Age, years 7.1 1.5 7 1.5 7.1 1.5 0.66
 Child weight, kg 39.1 14.7 39.1 12.6 35.9 9.8 0.01
Household
 Annual household income <0.001
  Less than $20,000 267 58 46 15 80 29
  $20,000 - $34,999 138 30 94 31 91 34
  $35,000 or more 52 11 165 54 100 37
 Number of adults living in the home <0.001
  One (myself only) 224 49 77 25 33 12
  Two 163 36 162 53 157 58
  Three or more 70 15 66 22 81 30
 Number of children ≤18 years living in the home <0.001
  One 52 11 32 10 28 10
  Two 123 27 97 32 102 38
  Three 98 21 68 22 82 30
  Four or more 184 40 108 35 59 22
 Household Food security <0.001
  High food security 258 56 206 68 201 74
  Low food security 123 27 68 22 60 22
  Very low food security 76 17 31 10 10 4

SNAP, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

a

SNAP and other assistance programs: SNAP, WIC (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children), free or reduced cost school breakfast, free or reduced cost school lunch, SSI (Supplemental Security Income), MFIP (Minnesota Family Investment Program), and/or daycare assistance.

b

Assistance programs other than SNAP: WIC, free or reduced cost school breakfast, free or reduced cost school lunch, SSI, MFIP, and/or daycare assistance.