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Changes in preobesity weight velocities in obese children
1Division of Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, PA.
Insights
Children
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Childhood Obesity Research
Background:
- Childhood obesity is a growing public health concern.
- Understanding pre-obesity weight dynamics is crucial for early intervention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze weight velocity changes in children prior to developing obesity.
- To identify distinct patterns of weight gain preceding obesity onset.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of growth charts from 58 obese children.
- Categorization into two groups based on pre-obesity weight velocity Z-score changes.
Main Results:
- Group 1 showed a minimal increase in weight velocity Z-scores (0.36 +/- 0.49) pre-obesity.
- Group 2 exhibited a significantly larger increase (2.42 +/- 1.0) in weight velocity Z-scores, over six times that of Group 1.
- No significant differences were found between groups regarding obesity severity, age of onset, parental obesity, or adolescent persistence.
Conclusions:
- Rapid acceleration in weight velocity precedes obesity in a subset of children.
- This accelerated weight gain pattern is not linked to obesity severity or long-term persistence.
- Identifying pre-obesity weight velocity changes may offer targets for early intervention strategies.
Abstract:
A retrospective analysis of the growth charts of 58 (30 females, 28 males) obese children from the author's general pediatric practice was undertaken to determine changes in preobesity weight velocity. The children fell into two groups. One group of children (group 1, n = 30) had a small increase (0.36 +/- 0.49, means +/- SD) in their weight velocity Z scores the year before reaching obesity. The second group (group 2, n = 28) had an increase (2.42 +/- 1.0) in their weight velocity Z scores more than six times that of the first group. There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of severity of obesity either at onset. By later, or at adolescence. Nor was there a significant difference in age of onset of obesity, presence of obesity in their parents, or the persistence of obesity into adolescence.