RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Household Wealth and Child Body Mass Index: Patterns and Mechanisms JF RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences FD Russell Sage Foundation SP 80 OP 100 DO 10.7758/RSF.2021.7.3.04 VO 7 IS 3 A1 Courtney Boen A1 Lisa A. Keister A1 Nick Graetz YR 2021 UL http://www.rsfjournal.org/content/7/3/80.abstract AB Wealth plays a unique role in shaping later-life health risk, but the relationship between wealth and child health remains largely unexplored. Using longitudinal data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) (1994–2013), this study uses multilevel mixed-effects models and the parametric g-formula approach to both assess the relationship between household wealth and child body mass index (BMI) and identify the mechanisms linking wealth to child BMI. We find that household wealth is negatively associated with childhood BMI. In addition to finding a strong, direct association, we also find that household wealth indirectly patterns child BMI and obesity risk through household spending and family stress processes. These findings provide new insights into the links between wealth, child health, and early-life population health disparities.