TY - JOUR
T1 - Seasonal Variability in Weight Gain Among American Indian, Black, White, and Hispanic Children
T2 - A 3.5-Year Study
AU - Lane, Taylor S.
AU - Sonderegger, Derek L.
AU - Holeva-Eklund, Whitney M.
AU - Brazendale, Keith
AU - Behrens, Timothy K.
AU - Howdeshell, Hiliary
AU - Walka, Sherry
AU - Cook, Jon R.
AU - de Heer, Hendrik D.
N1 - Funding Information:
The research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities to the Southwest Health Equity Research Collaborative under Award Number U54MD012388 .
Funding Information:
The authors gratefully acknowledge the members of the Pediatric Obesity Weight Evaluation Registry Research Committee who contributed to the refinement of the research concept, study design, and statistical analysis approach for this study. The content of this paper is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not represent the views of the funders. The Funding agency had no role in data collection, analysis, and interpretation or the decision to write this manuscript. The research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities to the Southwest Health Equity Research Collaborative under Award Number U54MD012388. Author contributions were as follows: conceptualization: TSL, WMHE, KB, and HDDH; data curation: TSL, HH, SW, and JC; formal analysis: TSL and DS; methodology: TSL, TKB, HH, and JC; writing ? original draft: TSL and HDDH; software: DS; validation: DS, KB, and TKB; visualization: DS; writing ? review and editing: TSL, DS, WMHE, KB, TKB, and HH; and supervision: SW, JC, and HDDH. No financial disclosures were reported by the authors of this paper.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 American Journal of Preventive Medicine
PY - 2021/5
Y1 - 2021/5
N2 - Introduction: Several studies have reported that children gain more weight during the summer season. Despite high obesity rates, little research has included American Indian/Alaskan Native children, and few studies have been longitudinal. This observational study examines seasonal weight variability over 3.5 years among ethnically diverse children, including 2,184 American Indian/Alaskan Native children. Methods: Children's height and weight were measured before and after the summer from 2012–2015 and analyzed in 2019–2020, including children with ≥2 consecutive measurements (N=7,890, mean age=8.4 [SD=2.8] years). Mixed-effects models tested whether the percentage of the 95th BMI percentile and BMI differed by season (summer versus the rest of the year) and ethnicity. Results: American Indian/Alaskan Native (23.7%), Hispanic (19.8%), and Black (17.8%) children had significantly higher baseline obesity rates than White children (7.1%). The percentage of the 95th BMI percentile significantly increased during the summer compared with the percentage during the rest of the year, with the strongest effects for children who were obese (b=2.69, 95% CI=1.35, 4.03, p<0.001) or overweight (b=1.47, 95% CI=0.56, 2.35, p<0.01). In BMI units, summer BMI increase was 0.50 kg/m2 higher (obese model) and 0.27 kg/m2 higher (overweight) than that of the rest of the year. Seasonal effects were significantly less pronounced for American Indian/Alaskan Native children than for White children. Conclusions: Children gained significantly more weight during the summer season, with the strongest effects for children who were obese. American Indian/Alaskan Native children had less seasonal variability than White children, but higher overall obesity rates. These data underscore summer as a critical time for obesity prevention among children who are overweight/obese but suggest that seasonal patterns may vary for American Indian/Alaskan Native children.
AB - Introduction: Several studies have reported that children gain more weight during the summer season. Despite high obesity rates, little research has included American Indian/Alaskan Native children, and few studies have been longitudinal. This observational study examines seasonal weight variability over 3.5 years among ethnically diverse children, including 2,184 American Indian/Alaskan Native children. Methods: Children's height and weight were measured before and after the summer from 2012–2015 and analyzed in 2019–2020, including children with ≥2 consecutive measurements (N=7,890, mean age=8.4 [SD=2.8] years). Mixed-effects models tested whether the percentage of the 95th BMI percentile and BMI differed by season (summer versus the rest of the year) and ethnicity. Results: American Indian/Alaskan Native (23.7%), Hispanic (19.8%), and Black (17.8%) children had significantly higher baseline obesity rates than White children (7.1%). The percentage of the 95th BMI percentile significantly increased during the summer compared with the percentage during the rest of the year, with the strongest effects for children who were obese (b=2.69, 95% CI=1.35, 4.03, p<0.001) or overweight (b=1.47, 95% CI=0.56, 2.35, p<0.01). In BMI units, summer BMI increase was 0.50 kg/m2 higher (obese model) and 0.27 kg/m2 higher (overweight) than that of the rest of the year. Seasonal effects were significantly less pronounced for American Indian/Alaskan Native children than for White children. Conclusions: Children gained significantly more weight during the summer season, with the strongest effects for children who were obese. American Indian/Alaskan Native children had less seasonal variability than White children, but higher overall obesity rates. These data underscore summer as a critical time for obesity prevention among children who are overweight/obese but suggest that seasonal patterns may vary for American Indian/Alaskan Native children.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.amepre.2020.12.010
DO - 10.1016/j.amepre.2020.12.010
M3 - Article
C2 - 33632651
AN - SCOPUS:85101359314
SN - 0749-3797
VL - 60
SP - 658
EP - 665
JO - American Journal of Preventive Medicine
JF - American Journal of Preventive Medicine
IS - 5
ER -