The Weight of Care: Examining the Relationship Between Grandchild Caregiving and Adiposity in Later Life

Grandchild caregiving is an increasingly common later-life family role, yet its association with older adults' adiposity remains unclear. Using five waves of the Health and Retirement Study (2010-2018), this study examines associations between grandchild caregiving arrangements and four adiposity indicators: BMI based on self-reported height and weight, physically measured BMI, waist circumference, and relative fat mass. Linear panel models, including random-effects and fixed-effects models, assess whether adiposity patterns are linked to caregiving transitions or to broader differences across caregiving arrangements. Fixed-effects results showed little evidence linking caregiving transitions to adiposity changes over time. Random-effects models indicated higher adiposity among grandparents in household caregiving arrangements, especially multigenerational households, across multiple outcomes. Findings suggest that later-life adiposity differences among caregiving grandparents are linked less to caregiving transitions per se than to the household, socioeconomic, and family-role contexts in which grandchild care occurs.