title: Don't children grow out of their obesity? Weight transitions in early childhood.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Expert opinion and cross-sectional analyses posit that obese young children will likely "outgrow" their obesity. However, given the nature of the US childhood obesity epidemic, this assertion may no longer hold true.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To compare the weight transitions between early childhood (3-5 years) and midchildhood (7-10 years) in 2 different longitudinal cohorts: black preschool children from the inner city and from a nationally representative sample.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Weight transitions for children who were normal weight at baseline were not markedly different between cohorts. However, overweight and obese low-income black children had a very high probability of becoming or remaining overweight or obese by follow-up (>90% probability) in comparison with the nationally representative cohort (50%-60% probability).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Low-income black preschool children do not necessarily "outgrow" their obesity. These findings have implications for optimal timing of obesity interventions and suggest the need for an increasing focus on children during the early preschool years.
authors.affiliation: Pediatric Endocrinology and Health Services Research, Child Health Evaluation and Research Unit, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-5456, USA. joyclee@umich.edu
authors.forename: Joyce M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Sungwoo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.forename: Jamie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zoellner
authors.forename: Brian A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Burt
authors.forename: Anita M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Sandretto
authors.forename: Woosung
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Sohn
authors.forename: Amid I
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Ismail
mesh_terms: D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000367:Age Factors; D001827:Body Height; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development / Q000502:physiology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D011203:Poverty; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D015430:Weight Gain / Q000208:ethnology*; D015431:Weight Loss / Q000208:ethnology*