AUTHOR=O'Connor Thomas G. , Williams Jason , Blair Clancy , Gatzke-Kopp Lisa M. , Francis Lori , Willoughby Michael T. 

TITLE=Predictors of Developmental Patterns of Obesity in Young Children

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Pediatrics

VOLUME=8

YEAR=2020

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/pediatrics/articles/10.3389/fped.2020.00109

DOI=10.3389/fped.2020.00109

ISSN=2296-2360

ABSTRACT=<p><bold>Introduction:</bold> The current study characterizes longitudinal patterns in obesity in young children and their prediction from developmental programming and social determinant hypotheses.</p><p><bold>Materials and Methods:</bold> The data are based on the Family Life Project, a prospective longitudinal study of 1,292 families recruited from low-income, racially diverse, rural communities in Pennsylvania, and North Carolina. Pre-natal, peri-natal, and post-natal risks for childhood obesity were collected from 2 months of age; in-person assessments of child growth were used to identity obesity on multiple occasions from 24 to 90 months of age.</p><p><bold>Results:</bold> Two major novel findings emerged. First, longitudinal analyses identified four distinct obesity development profiles: stable obesity, later-onset obesity, moderate/declining obesity, and non-obese; these groups had distinct risk profiles. Second, prediction analyses favored developmental programming explanations for obesity, including evidence even in early childhood that both low- and high birth weight was associated with stable obesity. There was no indication that pre- and peri-natal and post-natal factors predicted obesity differently in non-minority and minority children.</p><p><bold>Discussion:</bold> Factors derived from the developmental programming model of obesity overlapped with, but predicted early onset obesity independently from, risks associated with social determinant models of obesity.</p>