This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. Primary support for the subproject and the subproject's principal investigator may have been provided by other sources, including other NIH sources. The Total Cost listed for the subproject likely represents the estimated amount of Center infrastructure utilized by the subproject, not direct funding provided by the NCRR grant to the subproject or subproject staff. The child obesity epidemic threatens a worldwide health care crisis. Prenatal, early infancy, and age at adiposity rebound are critical periods for development of persistent obesity and its co-morbidities. Early childhood growth patterns are associated with risk of obesity at later age. Interventions targeting the prevention of child obesity could be more effective if directed at the individual children who are likely to become overweight or obese later in life.
Our aims are to characterize the trajectories of temporal change in age and sex adjusted BMI-z score, to explore the relationship of the pattern of trajectories with known correlates and consequences of child obesity.
These aims will be achieved in two preliminary studies. In the first study, we will include children who were born between January 2003 and December 2005 and had the first well child visit at a Nemours clinic within the first month of birth and had at least one well child visit each year for the next 5 years. We will collect data related to demographics, socio-economic and co-morbidities from Nemours Electronic Medical Record (EMR). We will calculate age and sex adjusted BMI-z score for each subject and classify subjects in groups based on pattern of the correlation structure of change in BMI-z score of each individual. In study 2, we will select a sample of 600 patients from the stratified groups in study 1 and collect retrospective data on known correlates of childhood excess weight gain that are not available in the EMR. The proposed study will enable us to classify children in terms of their risk of excessive weight gain to ensure a stratified randomization in a future randomized control trial to evaluate three family based interventions targeting the prevention of excess weight gain in early childhood.
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