Role of Community on Overweight and Obese Trajectories during Early Childhood

Hyojun Park, University of Wisconsin-Madison

The aims of this study are to determine the trajectories of obesity during early childhood, to identify the risk factors associated with the trajectories, and to examine how the community influences on the onset of obesity during early childhood. Data were from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort and the County Health Rankings, nationally representative data at the individual and county level, respectively. Parametric survival modeling that account for multilevel structure and complex survey design shows that the baseline hazard of being overweight and obese (OW/OB) was the highest at 10 months, but decreased throughout early childhood. Black children and children with overweight mothers were more likely to experience the earlier onset of OW/OB, whereas children born VLBW and with moderate weight gain mothers experienced the delayed onset of OW/OB. Children born in counties with a worse health behaviors score experienced the earlier onset of obesity than their counterparts.