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Health Economics Review
Published in: Health Economics Review 1/2017

Open Access 01-12-2017 | Research

Variation in the relationship between birth weight and subsequent obesity by household income

Author: Jonas Minet Kinge

Published in: Health Economics Review | Issue 1/2017

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Abstract

There is evidence to suggest that high birth weight increases subsequent BMI. However, little attention has been paid to variations in this impact between population groups. This study investigates the relationship between high birth weight and subsequent obesity, and whether or not this relationship varies by household income. Data was taken from fourteen rounds of the Health Survey for England (between 2000–2014; N = 31,043) for children aged 2–16. We regressed obesity in childhood against birth weight, accounting for interactions between birth weight and household income, using sibling-fixed effects models. High birth weight was associated with increased risk of subsequent obesity. This association was significantly more pronounced in children from low-income families, compared with children from high-income families. A 1 kg increase in birth weight increased the probability of obesity by 7% in the lowest income tertile and 4% in the highest income tertile. This suggests that early socioeconomic deprivation compound the effect of high birth weight on obesity.
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Metadata
Title
Variation in the relationship between birth weight and subsequent obesity by household income
Author
Jonas Minet Kinge
Publication date
01-12-2017
Publisher
Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Published in
Health Economics Review / Issue 1/2017
Electronic ISSN: 2191-1991
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s13561-017-0154-6

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