The impact of smoking during pregnancy on children's body weight

Arbeitspapier

We study the effect of mothers' smoking during pregnancy on children's body weight outcomes during pre-school ages using a nationally representative sample of children surveyed in NLSY79 Children and Young Adults. Exploiting 'within mother and across pregnancies' variation in smoking behavior, we find that maternal smoking during pregnancy has a negative effect on weight outcomes at birth but the children of mothers who smoked during pregnancy catch up with the children of non-smokers, usually within their first-year post birth. We also find evidence to suggest that children of smokers in later pre-school ages (3 to 5 years old) are likely to have higher weight outcomes relative to children of non-smokers when their mother reported higher intensity levels of smoking (greater than one pack per day).

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: Economics Working Paper Series ; No. 2018/04

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Health: General ; Health Behavior ; Health: Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
• Subject: Maternal smoking ; Children's health outcomes ; child weight ; child BMI

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Dasgupta, Kabir ; Ghimire, Keshar M. ; Pacheco, Gail
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Auckland University of Technology (AUT), Faculty of Business, Economics and Law
• (where): Auckland
• (when): 2018

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/242560
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:42 AM CET