title: Rapid growth from 12 to 23 months of life predicts obesity in a population of Pacific Island children.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Rapid growth (RG) in early childhood has been associated with increased risk of obesity. The specific intervals when risk is highest have not been well examined and may help identify modifiable risk factors.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine the correlation between RG in consecutive time intervals during the first 2 years of life with obesity at 4-5 years.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a retrospective study of children attending the largest community health center in Hawaii. Children, aged 4-5 years, with a pre-kindergarten (PreK) well-child physical examination were included; data were abstracted from medical charts.
  
  
  METHODS
  Children were classified as overweight (BMI for age/sex 85-94%) or obese (BMI for age/sex > or = 95%). Moderate and severe rapid growth was defined as an increase in weight-for-height z-score of .67-1.0 SD and > or = 1.0, respectively. Relationship between RG and PreK obesity was assessed using logistic regression analyses.
  
  
  RESULTS
  389 children were included: 66% Hawaiian, 21.6% Samoan and 12.3% Filipino. At the PreK 19.6% were obese, and 20.9% were overweight. Severe RG from 12 to 23 months was strongly associated with PreK obesity (OR 4.36, 95% CI 1.85-10.27). Of children with severe RG from 12-23 months, 48% were obese at PreK compared with 16.7% of children with moderate RG and 19.3% of children without RG.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Rapid growth between 12 and 23 months, a key period of nutritional transition in toddlers, was strongly associated with obesity at 4 to 5 years of age in this high-risk population of Pacific Island minority subgroups.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine, 1319 Punahou St., Suite 720, Honolulu, Hawaii 96826, USA. okihirom@hawaii.edu
authors.forename: May
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Okihiro
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.forename: Lon
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: White
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Derauf
mesh_terms: D001827:Body Height; D001835:Body Weight; D002657:Child Development; D003469:Culture; D006254:Hawaii / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D016015:Logistic Models; D044468:Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander; D009765:Obesity / Q000208:ethnology*; D050177:Overweight / Q000208:ethnology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors