Obesogenic food consumption among young children: the role of maltreatment

Objective To determine whether children exposed to a greater variety of acts of parent-to-child physical and psychological maltreatment will be at greater risk of consuming obesogenic foods at a higher frequency.Design Survey research using a longitudinal panel design.Setting In-home interviews with primary caregivers in twenty large US cities.Participants A national sample of at-risk children and their families who participated in the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS).Results Child maltreatment emerged as a statistically significant (P<0·01) and robust predictor of obesogenic food consumption, in both cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses. Child maltreatment also consistently emerged as one of the strongest predictors of obesogenic food consumption in these models. Ancillary analyses indicated that physical maltreatment plays a particularly important role in these associations.Conclusions A major implication of the present study is that child maltreatment prevention efforts should be reflected in interventions that seek to diminish unhealthy eating practices among children. Multi-professional teams can work together on obesity prevention not only via education but also by considering the interconnectedness of obesogenic food consumption and experiences of maltreatment.