The Role of Care Neglect and Supervisory Neglect in Childhood Obesity in a Disadvantaged Sample

Abstract

Objective Assess the roles of care neglect and supervisory neglect, and the moderating influence of child age on childhood obesity. Study Design Child BMI, parental care neglect, and supervisory neglect were assessed in an ethnically diverse sample of 571 young children from two Midwestern States. Hierarchical linear regression was used to assess the influence of both forms of neglect and the moderating role of age. Results Fifteen percent of the children were overweight and 16.3% were obese. Care neglect significantly correlated with child BMI for younger but not older children, while supervisory neglect significantly correlated with child BMI for older but not younger children. Conclusions The impact of two types of neglect on obesity varied across age, highlighting the importance of differentiating between types of neglectful parenting when addressing the high rate of childhood obesity in disadvantaged children.