Developmental Trajectories of Girls' BMI Across Childhood and Adolescence

Abstract

This study describes qualitatively distinct trajectories of BMI change among girls participating in a longitudinal study of non‐Hispanic, white girls (n = 182) and their parents, assessed at daughters' ages 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, and 15 years. Height, weight, body fat, fasting blood glucose and lipids, blood pressure, waist circumference, and pubertal status were measured, and participants self‐reported dietary, physical activity, and television (TV) viewing patterns. Growth mixture models were used to model heterogeneity in girls' BMI trajectories over 10 years. Statistical support was strongest for four distinct BMI trajectories: (i) upward percentile crossing (UPC; n = 25, 14%); (ii) delayed downward percentile crossing (DDPC; n = 37, 20%); (iii) 60th percentile tracking (60PT; n = 52, 29%); and (iv) 50th percentile tracking (50PT; n = 68, 37%). Girls in the UPC group had more metabolic risk factors at age 15 years, even after adjusting for concurrent weight status. Girls in the UPC group had mothers with the highest BMIs at study entry and were breast‐fed for a shorter duration. This novel approach for examining differences in growth trajectories revealed four distinct BMI trajectories that predicted adolescent metabolic health outcomes in girls. The present study provides support for BMI monitoring in girls and for the potential utility of combining data on BMI tracking with data on familial characteristics for the early identification of girls at elevated risk for obesity and metabolic syndrome.

Genetic and Environmental Factors Influencing BMI Development from Adolescence to Young Adulthood

“…As time elapses during adolescence, boys and girls normally undergo an initial rapid and consistent linear increase in BMI (Lammi et al 2009;Ventura et al 2009). Our data was able to capture this initial linear growth, suggesting that both the general level and this initial linear growth were highly mediated by genetic influences (65.1-86.5%).…”

Overweight in Infancy: Which Pre- and Perinatal Factors Determine Overweight Persistence or Reduction A Birth Cohort Followed for 11 Years

“…BMI [13,14,31,32,33], BMI z-scores [34,35] or BMI percentiles [12,15], and different age ranges. In the case of cutoff points to define overweight, overweight patterns represent a probability of being overweight at a certain time point.…”

“…The finding that not all overweight children become overweight adults and not all overweight adults were overweight as a child implies that different longitudinal overweight patterns exist [9,10,11]. Studies have indeed found distinct longitudinal patterns in childhood, among which often a reducing, increasing and persistent overweight pattern is detected [12,13,14]. Different determinants may underlie these longitudinal patterns.…”

Heterogeneity of sex-stratified BMI trajectories in children from 8 to 14years old

“…In an effort to better understand weight changes and obesity onset in children, growth trajectories have been recommended for tracking overweight longitudinally in youths [5]. In line with that recommendation, most recent studies aiming to understand weight changes in children and adolescents have relied on within-person trajectories obtained from growth mixture modeling [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]. Together, these studies offer an interesting view of weight gain in children and suggest a need to better understand sexual differences and psychosocial predictors of weight changes for preadolescents of all weights and heights.…”