Child growth and nutritional status in a high-poverty community in eastern Kentucky

The research reported in this paper examines the relationship between household socioeconomic measures, child growth, and nutritional status in a community in eastern Kentucky with a high rate of poverty. It is based on the premise that child growth and nutritional status reflect the social circumstances in which they occur. 21.6% of the children exhibited low height (<15th percentile of National Center for Health Statistics [NCHS] reference values), with 13% of the girls exhibiting stunting (<5th percentile). Thirty-three percent of the children exhibited overweight, and 13% exhibited obesity (>85th percentile and >95th percentile of National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey [NHANES] reference values, respectively); 21.4% of boys were obese, compared to 8.7% of girls. Analysis of variance indicated that child stature is best explained by the father's education level interacting with employment status, and by the mother's employment status interacting with household poverty level. Weight is best explained by the mother's employment status. However, the relationships among socioeconomic measures and growth outcomes differed by gender of the child. These issues are discussed in light of the anthropology literature and the situation in Bridges County, Kentucky where the research took place.