Socioeconomic status strongly influences children's nutrition and health, as low-income families often face barriers in meeting basic needs. To help address these challenges and reduce health disparities, safety net programs such as Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, also known as WIC, provide critical support through access to healthcare, nutritious foods, and nutrition education. This study used the WIC Infant and Toddler Feeding Practices Study-2 data to identify different determinants of health, including duration of enrollment in safety net programs that distinguish children from low-income households with higher versus lower diet quality and weight status. The study found that children’s diet quality was most strongly predicted by race and ethnicity as well as consistent participation in food assistance programs, especially WIC, where longer participation was associated with better diet quality among low-income children. Meanwhile, children’s weight status was primarily predicted by birth weight and maternal weight status, categorized by body mass index. These findings show how expanding long-term access to safety-net programs, particularly WIC, can help improve diet quality, weight status, and reduce health inequities among children from low-income households. This study was published in Current Developments in Nutrition and conducted by researchers from the University of California, Davis, Nutrition Policy Institute, Public Health Foundation Enterprises-WIC, and the University of Southern California.
