Grandparent Coresidence and Risk of Early Child Overweight and Obesity in Low-Income, Hispanic Families in New York City

Objective: Children in low-income Hispanic families are at high risk of obesity and are more likely to live with grandparents than their non-Hispanic white counterparts. We aimed to determine if grandparent coresidence (prenatal through age 2 years) was associated with: 1) obesogenic feeding practices; and 2) child weight outcomes from birth to three years.

Methods: We analyzed data from 267 low-income, Hispanic mother-infant pairs in the control group of an obesity prevention trial in New York City. Linear and logistic regression tested differences in obesogenic feeding practices and weight outcomes at 2 and 3 years, dependent upon grandparent coresidence. Multilevel modeling tested associations between grandparent coresidence and WFAz over time.

Results: Persistent grandparent coresidence (vs none) was associated with putting cereal in the bottle (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 3.46; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.43, 8.40). Persistent grandparent coresidence (vs none) was associated with higher mean WFAz (2 years: B 0.83; 95% CI 0.41, 1.25; 3 years: B 0.79; 95% CI 0.32, 1.25) and higher odds of child overweight/obesity risk (2 years: aOR 4.38; 95% CI 1.64, 11.69; 3 years: aOR 3.15; 95% CI 1.19, 8.36). In multilevel models, more occasions of grandparent coresidence were associated with higher WFAz.

Conclusions: Grandparent coresidence may be associated with higher risk of child overweight/obesity in low-income, Hispanic families. Further research is needed to elucidate mechanisms of these associations and to inform obesity prevention strategies in the context of multigenerational families.