Original ArticlePEDIATRIC OBESITY Study Importance What is already known? ► Longitudinal studies have shown that accumulation of adverse life events in childhood increases the risk of overweight in adolescence. ► Cross-sectional studies have shown mixed results of the association between adverse life events and overweight.
What does this study add?► This study investigated the association between adverse events in childhood with short-term weight changes. ► There was insufficient evidence to indicate an association between adverse events in childhood with change in BMI at 1 or 2 years of experiencing the events.Objective: The accumulation of adverse events in childhood is linked to obesity, although the short-term (1 to 2 years) dynamics of weight change during life events has not been investigated.Methods: In the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, mothers reported life events in the past year when their children were 54 months, 9 years, and 11 years old. Children's height and weight were measured, and BMI-for-age z scores were calculated at 36 and 54 months and at 7, 9, 10, and 11 years. The estimated 1-and 2-year change in BMI z score of being in the highest quartile of negative and total life events was modeled using linear regression accounting for repeated measures.Results: Analyses included 1,074 children. The highest quartile of negative life events was not statistically associated with BMI z score change at 2 years compared with those below the highest quartile (estimate: 0.069, 95% CI: −0.006, 0.144). Similarly, the highest quartile of total events was not related to BMI z score change (estimate: 0.029, 95% CI: −0.054, 0.114). The developmental period of the child did not moderate the association.Conclusions: No significant change in BMI z score was observed in 1 to 2 years for children experiencing many life events.Obesity (2020) 28, 347-352.
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