title: Predicting weight status stability and change from fifth grade to eighth grade: the significant role of adolescents' social-emotional well-being.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The primary objective of this study was to predict weight status stability and change across the transition to adolescence using parent reports of child and household routines and teacher and child self-reports of social-emotional development.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort (ECLS-K), a nationally representative sample of children who entered kindergarten during 1998-1999 and were followed through eighth grade. At fifth grade, parents reported on child and household routines and the study child and his/her primary classroom teacher reported on the child's social-emotional functioning. At fifth and eighth grade, children were directly weighed and measured at school. Nine mutually-exclusive weight trajectory groups were created to capture stability or change in weight status from fifth to eighth grade: (1) stable obese (ObeSta); (2) obese to overweight (ObePos1); (3) obese to healthy (ObePos2); (4) stable overweight (OverSta); (5) overweight to healthy (OverPos); (6) overweight to obese (OverNeg); (7) stable healthy (HelSta); (8) healthy to overweight (HelNeg1); and (9) healthy to obese (HelNeg2).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Except for breakfast consumption at home, school-provided lunches, nighttime sleep duration, household and child routines did not predict stability or change in weight status. Instead, weight status trajectory across the transition to adolescence was significantly predicted by measures of social-emotional functioning at fifth grade.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Assessing children's social-emotional well-being in addition to their lifestyle routines during the transition to adolescence is a noteworthy direction for adolescent obesity prevention and intervention.
authors.affiliation: University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05405, USA. ychang@uvm.edu
authors.forename: Yiting
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gable
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D001835:Body Weight; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D050177:Overweight / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology; D012917:Social Adjustment