Journal article
Childhood Obesity Differences in Single-Father and Single-Mother Families
Sociological focus (Kent, Ohio), Vol.52(3), pp.216-230
07/03/2019
DOI: 10.1080/00380237.2019.1624234
Abstract
Prior research consistently finds that children living in two-parent families are less likely to be obese than children in single-parent families. Most of the research that explores the relationship between family structure and childhood obesity is limited in its conceptualization of family structure, however, either ignoring single-father families or bunching them in the same category as single-mother families. Research on gender and families suggests that single fathers are different from single mothers in ways that may influence a child's risk of obesity. We use data from the kindergarten wave of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-1999 to explore differences in obesity rates for young children in single-father and single-mother families. Compared to single mothers, single fathers earn more and provide a slightly healthier home environment (less TV watching and more sharing of meals) but are more likely to work outside the home full-time. Children in single-father families are also more likely to be white and have fewer siblings. These differences counteract one another, resulting in similar levels of obesity in these two types of single-parent families.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Childhood Obesity Differences in Single-Father and Single-Mother Families
- Creators
- Mary Noonan - University of IowaJennifer Turchi - Castleton University
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Sociological focus (Kent, Ohio), Vol.52(3), pp.216-230
- DOI
- 10.1080/00380237.2019.1624234
- ISSN
- 0038-0237
- eISSN
- 2162-1128
- Publisher
- Routledge
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 07/03/2019
- Academic Unit
- Sociology and Criminology; Center for Social Science Innovation
- Record Identifier
- 9984306235502771
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