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Secondary prevention of obesity among children age 5 and under
Author(s) -
Lenders Carine M,
Heinricks John Ryan,
Debiasse Michelle A,
Gorman Katy
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.25.1_supplement.593.8
Background Early interventions are critical as most excess weight before puberty is gained before 5 years of age. As opposed to obesity classification, percent rather than centiles/z‐scores is preferred to evaluate change in weight measures. Objectives To determine change and >5% reduction rates in ideal‐body‐weight (IBW) and ideal‐BMI (IBMI) among children aged ≤5 y. Methods Data was extracted from an electronic medical record database at Boston Medical Center (2003‐2010). Variables included weight, height, race/ethnicity, age at first and last visits, number of visits, gender, and insurance status. IBW was calculated as the product of BMI‐for‐age 50 th centile and measured height‐squared or McLaren's method. %IBM was calculated based on the ratio of measured to ideal weight. Result The sample consisted of <6 y olds (n=69), weight was 28.7±8.2 kg (mean±sd), height 106.6±12.0 cm, BMI 25.0±3.8 kg/m 2 (n=61/69), 34(49%) were black or African‐American and 25(36%) Hispanic. Overall, 49 (71%) had public insurance, 51(74%) had >2 visits, and 27(39%) were >6 m in the program. Change in %IBW was −19.6±22.7% for ≤2y olds and %IBMI was −4.3±14.7% for >2y olds. Among the ≤2 y olds (n=8), 2/3 had a %IBW reduction of >5%. Among the >2y old, 28% (n=17/61) had a %IBMI reduction >5%. Discussion Despite socioeconomic challenges, a reduction in weight measures is feasible in an urban clinic. Support from the New Balance foundation.