title: Racial differences in crossing major growth percentiles in infancy.
abstract: We examined associations of ever crossing upwards ≥2 (vs <2) major weight-for-length (WFL) percentiles in the first 24 months with obesity at 5 years among white and black children.
  
  
  
  We included 10 979 white and 1245 black children from the Linked CENTURY Study with percentile crossing data in all four 6-month periods in the first 24 months and obesity (age-specific and sex-specific body mass index ≥95th percentile) at 5 years. We used adjusted logistic regression models and stratified by race.
  
  
  
  64% of children crossed upwards ≥2 major WFL percentiles in the first 2 years. Among white children, 12% were obese vs 7% for <2 crossings, while among black children the frequencies were 23% vs 9%. Black children (adjusted OR 2.94, 2.04 to 4.23) who had ever crossed upwards ≥2 major WFL percentiles had a higher odds of obesity at age 5 than white children (adjusted OR 1.89, 1.64 to 2.18) (interaction p=0.02).
  
  
  
  Our results suggest that rapid weight gain in infancy is more deleterious among black than white children for later obesity.
authors.affiliation: School of Social Work, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Summer Sherburne
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Hawkins
authors.affiliation: Obesity Prevention Program, Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Sheryl L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Rifas-Shiman
authors.affiliation: Obesity Prevention Program, Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Matthew W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Gillman
authors.affiliation: Division of General Academic Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, Massachusetts General Hospital for Children, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.|Department of Nutrition, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Elsie M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Taveras
mesh_terms: D044383:Black People / Q000208:ethnology*; D001835:Body Weight / Q000208:ethnology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006128:Growth / Q000502:physiology*; D057238:Growth Charts; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D063766:Pediatric Obesity / Q000208:ethnology / Q000503:physiopathology; D015430:Weight Gain / Q000208:ethnology; D044465:White People / Q000208:ethnology*
keywords: Growth; health disparities; pediatric obesity