Distinct age-related patterns of overweight development to guide school healthcare interventions

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Health
• Public Health
• Growth Monitoring

Background:

• Childhood overweight and obesity are significant public health concerns.
• Understanding developmental trajectories is crucial for effective interventions.
• School healthcare plays a role in monitoring and addressing childhood weight issues.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify distinct groups of primary school children based on similar overweight development patterns.
• To reveal age-related patterns within these identified overweight development groups.
• To analyze the relationship between overweight development groups and school healthcare interventions.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective longitudinal register study using electronic health records.
• Flexible latent class mixed models applied to body mass index standard deviation scores.
• Analysis of a cohort of 508 children with overweight during primary school.

Main Results:

• Five distinct overweight development groups were identified for girls and four for boys.
• Groups showed convergence around age 10, with some progressing to obesity.
• Interventions were primarily offered to children with obesity, less to those gaining weight or overweight.

Conclusions:

• Awareness of typical overweight development patterns can optimize obesity prevention strategies.
• Tailoring multidisciplinary school health check programs based on developmental trajectories is recommended.
• Informed timing and design of interventions can improve effectiveness in managing childhood overweight.