Poverty and chronic illness: why safety net programs matter

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Deborah Bloch, Emory University; Ann Chahroudi, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2019-05-01
• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: © International Pediatric Research Foundation, Inc. 2019
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41390-019-0363-2
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Pediatric Research
• Volume: 85
• Issue: 6
• Start Page: 743
• End Page: 744
• Grant/Funding Information: None declared
• Keywords: Science & Technology; Pediatrics; Public health; Nutrition & Dietetics; Weight; Safety net programs; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; Chronic illness; Poverty
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Public Health; Health Sciences, Nutrition; Health Sciences, Human Development

Abstract

Articles in this month’s issue of Pediatric Research authored by Kochmanski, Oliveira, and Monthé-Drèze and their respective teams emphasize the importance of weight and nutrition on pediatric health, which here we will discuss in the context of poverty, a far too common social determinant of health. These three articles touch upon different contributors to and outcomes of unhealthy weight in children. In attempting to unravel the contribution of nurture vs. nature in childhood obesity development, Kochmanski, et al. utilizing a cohort from the Michigan Momentum Center Healthy Families Project, highlight the role of epigenetics by age-related DNA methylation at seven genetic sites in children of different age groups.1 Oliveira, et al. propose that metabolic syndrome in obese Latino males, more so than severity of obstructive sleep apnea, causes autonomic dysfunction,2 and Monthé-Drèze, et al. investigate the relationship between maternal obesity and poor neurodevelopmental outcomes of offspring.3 These articles support the need for continued research on modifiable factors to prevent childhood obesity and malnutrition and call for resources to address their root causes, such as poverty, in early life.