This Article  • Full text  • PDF  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citation map  • Citing articles on HighWire  • Citing articles on Web of Science (13)  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Related article  • Similar articles in this journal  Topic Collections  • Pediatrics, Other  • Alert me on articles by topic  Social Bookmarking   What's this?

Diana B. Cutts, MD; Alfred M. Pheley, PhD; Joni S. Geppert, MPH, RD

Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 1998;152:489-493.

Objective  To determine the characteristics of hunger in young children who attend ambulatory pediatric clinics in a midwestern city.

Design  Consecutive sample.

Setting  Ambulatory pediatric clinics of an inner-city teaching hospital.

Participants  English-speaking caregivers of 2578 children younger than 5 years.

Main Outcome Measure  Structured survey measures of hunger, family characteristics, assistance program use, child feeding practices, and anthropometrics.

Results  In this population, 171 (6.6%) were hungry, and 842 (32.7%) were at risk for hunger. Hunger status was associated with increased age (P<.001), decreased maternal education level (P=.013), maternal nonwhite race (P<.002), a history of homelessness (P<.001), and parental unemployment (P<.001). Hunger status was associated with use of Aid to Families with Dependent Children (P<.001) and food stamps (P<.001) but not with participation in The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). Results of anthropometrics indicated that mean growth percentiles were no different between hunger categories.

Conclusions  Housing, dietary, and family characteristics are identifiable risk factors for early childhood hunger. Hunger cannot be identified, however, using anthropometrics. It is disconcerting that fewer hungry children and children at risk for hunger participate in WIC compared with other programs. These data suggest the potential for more aggressive identification and intervention at the primary care and social service levels to benefit hungry children.

From the Department of Pediatrics (Dr Cutts and Ms Geppert) and the Office of Clinical Epidemiology (Dr Pheley), Hennepin County Medical Center, Minneapolis, Minn.

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter     What's this?

RELATED ARTICLE

The Painful Reality of Hunger
Robert Greenberg
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 1998;152(5):423-424.
EXTRACT | FULL TEXT  

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

Obesity Among US Urban Preschool Children: Relationships to Race, Ethnicity, and Socioeconomic Status
Whitaker and Orzol
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 2006;160:578-584.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Child Food Insecurity Increases Risks Posed by Household Food Insecurity to Young Children's Health
Cook et al.
J. Nutr. 2006;136:1073-1076.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Children's Experiences of Food Insecurity Can Assist in Understanding Its Effect on Their Well-Being
Connell et al.
J. Nutr. 2005;135:1683-1690.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Food Security of Older Children Can Be Assessed Using a Standardized Survey Instrument
Connell et al.
J. Nutr. 2004;134:2566-2572.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Food Insecurity Is Associated with Adverse Health Outcomes among Human Infants and Toddlers
Cook et al.
J. Nutr. 2004;134:1432-1438.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Welfare Reform and the Health of Young Children: A Sentinel Survey in 6 US Cities
Cook et al.
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 2002;156:678-684.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Head Start, Nutrition, and Problems of Poverty in Childhood
Karp
J. Am. Coll. Nutr. 1999;18:100-101.
FULL TEXT  

The Painful Reality of Hunger
Greenberg
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 1998;152:423-424.
FULL TEXT