title: Predictors of favorable growth patterns during the obesity epidemic among US school children.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To report the prevalence of favorable growth patterns, including healthy weight maintenance (HWM) and return to healthy weight (RHW) among US school-age children.
  
  
  METHODS
  A longitudinal analysis of childhood growth patterns from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort was completed (n = 9416). The primary outcome included describing the prevalence of HWM/RHW patterns using consecutive child growth data from kindergarten to fifth grades. Multivariate logistic regression was used to explore predictors of HWM/RHW. Incidence of RHW is calculated by grade level.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Seventy percent (n = 6617) of children enter kindergarten at a healthy weight and approximately 70% maintained a healthy weight through fifth grade. Among overweight/obese kindergartners, only 17.1% outgrew their weight risk (RHW) by fifth grade.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Fewer than 1 in 5 at-risk children outgrow their weight risk during school-age yet a majority of healthy weight children can maintain healthy weight during a critical growth period. Future work should explore additional socioecologic factors associated with favorable growth.
authors: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA All Children's Hospital Johns Hopkins Medicine, St Petersburg, FL, USA raquel.hernandez@jhmi.edu.
authors: Raquel G
authors: RG
authors: Hernandez
authors: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors: Arik V
authors: AV
authors: Marcell
authors: All Children's Hospital Johns Hopkins Medicine, St Petersburg, FL, USA.
authors: Janelle
authors: J
authors: Garcia
authors: All Children's Hospital Johns Hopkins Medicine, St Petersburg, FL, USA.
authors: Ernest K
authors: EK
authors: Amankwah
authors: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors: Tina L
authors: TL
authors: Cheng
mesh_terms: D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D002648:Child; D015331:Cohort Studies; D058872:Epidemics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D063766:Pediatric Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: favorable growth; growth patterns; health disparities; healthy weight; obesity resilience; school-age