Demment

Margaret Demment, a doctoral student in the field of nutritional sciences, won the best student oral presentation prize at the International Society for Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity annual meeting in Austin, Texas, May 23-26.

Demment, in the field of community nutrition, presented her findings on associations between income and childhood obesity from a sample of rural, upstate New York children followed from birth to adolescence.

Demment found that children in downwardly mobile families -- where children moved into low-income classifications as they aged -- were more likely to be obese than children never classified as low income. Similarly, children who were born into and remained in low-income families were more likely to be overweight than more economically advantaged peers.

"This suggests that there might be important links between low income and childhood obesity that we are missing when we use more basic measures of income at only one time period," Demment said.

Ted Boscia is assistant director of communications for the College of Human Ecology.