• Susan B Sisson, Amanda Sheffield-Morris, Paul Spicer, Karina Lora, and Chelsea Latorre.
• University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK 73117, USA. Electronic address: susan-sisson@ouhsc.edu.
• Prev Med. 2014 Apr 1; 61: 48-53.

ObjectiveTo explore the relation between family structure and obesogenic attributes.MethodsPublicly available data from the 2007 National Survey of Children's Health (n=55,094; 11.6 ± 0.04 years; 51.2% male) was analyzed in fall 2012. Predictor variables included marital status (two-parent biological [referent], two-parent blended, single-mother, and other) and number of children. Outcome variables included the presence of a bedroom television (BTV), elevated television (TV) viewing time, insufficient physical activity, and infrequent family meals.ResultsAnalysis of family structure revealed 63% biological, 11% blended, and 20% single-mother families. Twenty-three percent of children did not have siblings. When family structure variables were considered independently, children in blended (odds ratio (OR): 1.75; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.45, 2.10) and single-mother homes (1.49; 1.28, 1.74) had higher odds of BTV. Children in blended families had higher odds of elevated TV viewing time (1.28; 1.08, 1.51). Single-mother homes had higher odds of infrequent family meals (1.28; 1.07, 1.52). Families with ≥ 2 children were less likely to have BTV (0.60; 0.54, 0.66) or elevated TV viewing time (0.74; 0.67, 0.82), and to irregularly dine together (0.89; 0.80, 0.99).ConclusionDiverse family structure was associated with more obesogenic behaviors and environments. The presence of siblings diminished, but did not eliminate, the risk.Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Inc.

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