title: Childhood body mass index gain during the summer versus during the school year.
abstract: The nationwide increase in obesity affects all population sectors, but the impact on children is of special concern because overweight children are prone to becoming overweight adults. Contrary to the opinion of experts, research suggests that schools may be more part of the solution than the problem. Recent seasonal comparison research (comparing children's outcomes during the summer and during school year) reports that children gain body mass index (BMI) nearly twice as fast during the summer as during the school year. Whereas most children experience healthier BMI gain during the school year than the summer, this is especially the case for black and Hispanic children and for children already overweight.
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, Ohio State University, Ohio, USA.
authors.forename: Douglas B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Downey
authors.forename: Heather R
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Boughton
mesh_terms: D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D002669:Child Welfare; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012574:Schools; D012621:Seasons; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D015430:Weight Gain