BCFN YES! 2018

Fetal exposure to maternal food insecurity increases the risk of childhood and adult obesity, predisposing children for chronic diseases later in life. Food insecurity’s impact on community health can be uniquely examined through Iraq’s conflict-disrupted, unsustainable food system. The project will retrospectively assess the effect of past maternal food insecurity during pregnancy on current offspring health through surveys and interviews among Iraqi households with young adults born before and after the Oil for Food aid program began in 1996. The research will be coupled with an intervention into community levels of obesity through neighborhood walking clubs and classes on nutrition and gardening, using interviews to tailor the intervention to the local community. The survey areas shown to have the highest rates of obesity among households will be targeted for the community obesity intervention, which will be sustained through the support of local leaders and local NGOs.