title: Developmental trajectories of childhood obesity and risk behaviors in adolescence.
abstract: Using group-based trajectory modeling, this study examined 5156 adolescents from the child sample of the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth to identify developmental trajectories of obesity from ages 6-18 and evaluate associations of such trajectories with risk behaviors and psychosocial health in adolescence. Four distinctive obesity trajectories were identified: "Chronically Obese," "Decreasing," "Increasing," and "Non-obese." Males were overrepresented in the Chronically Obese and Increasing groups; females were overrepresented in the Decreasing group. African-Americans were overrepresented in the Chronically Obese, Increasing, and Decreasing groups; in contrast, Whites were overrepresented in the Non-obese group. Obesity trajectories were not associated with greater trends in alcohol use, marijuana use, or delinquency, but Chronically Obese adolescents showed a greater increase in cigarette smoking over time compared to other trajectories. The Increasing trajectory, representing a transition into obesity status from childhood to adolescence, was associated with poorer psychosocial health compared to other trajectories.
authors.affiliation: UCLA Integrated Substance Abuse Programs, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, 11075 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite 200, Los Angeles, CA 90025, USA. yhuang@ucla.edu
authors.forename: David Y C
authors.initials: DY
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: H Isabella
authors.initials: HI
authors.lastname: Lanza
authors.forename: Kynna
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wright-Volel
authors.forename: M Douglas
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Anglin
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D033062:Friends; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D012309:Risk-Taking