Children whose families have trouble putting food on the table do not appear to be at increased risk of obesity, new study findings suggest.

Though it may seem counterintuitive, there is evidence that food “insecurity” in lower-income families can contribute to excessive weight gain. Studies have found that women who lack the money and resources for enough nutritious food are more likely than other women to be overweight.

Researchers speculate that there are several potential reasons for this. It’s possible that people tend to “overcompensate” and eat excessively when food is less scarce, such as the point in the month when families receive food stamps.

Then there’s the fact that many high-calorie, nutritionally sparse processed foods are relatively cheap, and so may become staple foods for some low-income families.

But the new study, published in the journal Pediatrics, suggests that for children, food insecurity is not the obesity risk factor it appears to be for adult women. In fact, children from families that had trouble buying enough food were 20 percent less likely than their peers to be overweight.

That doesn’t mean, however, that food insecurity is no health threat to children.

Though the current study did not assess children’s overall health, past research has linked food insecurity to poorer physical and mental health, as well as poorer school performance, according to lead author Dr. Donald Rose of Tulane University in New Orleans.

Food insecurity, he told Reuters Health, means not only a lack of calories, but a lack of quality foods that meet the body’s nutritional needs.

Still, when it comes to the battle against childhood obesity, factors other than food insecurity seem to be the best targets, according to Rose.

In this study, lack of exercise, excessive TV time and low income in general were some of the factors that did seem to boost children’s risk of being overweight.

The findings are based on a nationally representative study by the U.S. Department of Education that included nearly 17,000 kindergarteners. Researchers measured the children’s weight and height, and families completed a standard questionnaire used to gauge food insecurity.

Overall, about 9 percent of the children experienced food insecurity at some point in the previous year. Across the whole sample, roughly 11 percent of girls and 12 percent of boys were overweight.

Though food insecurity in and of itself was not linked to an increased risk of excess pounds, low income in general was. Race was a factor as well; black children were at greatest risk, followed by Latino children, whereas Asian children were least likely to be overweight.

Two of the most significant factors were lack of exercise and time spent in the front of the TV, the study found. Children who were relatively inactive during their free time, for example, were 50 percent more likely than their peers to be overweight.

Those findings, according to Rose, point to children’s activity levels and TV time as two of the prime targets in fighting obesity.

SOURCE: Pediatrics, February 2006.