High Overweight/Obesity Risk among Children Enrolled in Michigan Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Programs, 2012
Authors: Nance‐Panek Crystal , Song SuJin , Lim Yuen Mei , Crockett Elahé T , Song Won O 
Published: November 2023

Children from Migrant and Seasonal Farm Worker (MSFW) families are at a high risk of overweight/obesity (OW/OB). A Migrant and Seasonal Head Start (MSHS) provides comprehensive early childhood education services for MSFWs’ children to promote school readiness and also documents regular health surveillance data of several nutrition and health related programs. However, little is known about the prevalence and determinants of OW/OB in this population. Therefore, we examined the prevalence and determinants of OW/OB among children enrolled in Michigan (MI) MSHS programs. This study was based on the MI MSHS ChildPlus dataset collected by MI Telamon Corporation in 2012. A total of 906 children aged 0–72 months enrolled in MI MSHS programs were included in this study. Data on sociodemographic characteristics of children, their parents, and their household were collected through interviews with MSFW families by health specialists at each MSHS center. Children's height and weight were measured at the beginning of the program or during health checkups. BMI is calculated based on the measured height and weight as weight (kg)/height (m2). Childhood OW/OB was defined using age‐and sex‐specific weight for height percentile for children aged 0–23 months (≥ 97.7th percentile) and age‐ and sex‐specific BMI percentile for children aged ≥ 24 months (≥ 85th percentile). To examine the differences in determinants between OW/OB and non‐OW/OB groups, the chi‐square test was used for categorical variables and the t‐test for continuous variables. All children and their parents were Hispanic ethnicity and the majority of them spoke Spanish at home. Parents of MHS children were in low socioeconomic status with poor English proficiency, low education and low income levels. About one‐third (31.2%) of MSHS children in MI were OW/OB. The prevalence of OW/OB in female children (32.2%) was not significantly different from that of male children (30.4%). Children aged ≥ 24 months showed a significantly higher prevalence of OW/OB (35.4%) compared to those in children aged 0–23 months (24.0%). Among children aged 0–23 months, the OW/OB group had a lower household income than non‐OW/OB group (mean household income for OW/OB group vs. non‐ OW/OB group: 17,476 vs. 19,482 dollars, p‐value: 0.049). Among children aged ≥ 24 months, the OW/OB group was more likely to have a low father's education level (p‐value: 0.041) and lack health insurance (p‐value: 0.041) compared to non‐OW/OB group. The prevalence of OW/OB among children enrolled in MSHS programs is high and parent's educational level, annual family income, and health insurance are key health determinants that could significantly contribute to the risk of becoming OW/OB. Findings from this study suggest that policies, social supports, and health programs are urgently needed for MSFW families and children to ameliorate childhood OW/OB. Further large‐scale studies using a longitudinal design with more extensive information should continue to expand the body of knowledge on this population.

Support or Funding Information

This study was supported by Michigan Telamon Corporation and Michigan State University REPID program (Research Education Program to Increase Diversity in Health Researchers).