The effect of school on overweight in childhood: gain in body mass index during the school year and during summer vacation.

Full Abstract

OBJECTIVES:
To determine whether school or nonschool environments contribute more to childhood overweight, we compared children's gains in body mass index (BMI) when school is in session (during the kindergarten and first-grade school years) with their gains in BMI when school is out (during summer vacation).

METHODS:
The BMIs of 5380 children in 310 schools were measured as part of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Cohort. We used these measurements to estimate BMI gain rates during kindergarten, summer, and first grade.

RESULTS:
Growth in BMI was typically faster and more variable during summer vacation than during the kindergarten and first-grade school years. The difference between school and summer gain rates was especially large for 3 at-risk subgroups:
Black children, Hispanic children, and children who were already overweight at the beginning of kindergarten.

CONCLUSIONS:
Although a school's diet and exercise policies may be less than ideal, it appears that early school environments contribute less to overweight than do nonschool environments.

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Author information

Author/s: von Hippel, Paul T (PT); Powell, Brian (B); Downey, Douglas B (DB); Rowland, Nicholas J (NJ);

Affiliation: Department of Sociology and the Initiative for Population Research, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA. von-hippel.1(-atsign-)sociology.osu.edu

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't; Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

Journal: American journal of public health (Am J Public Health), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2007-Apr; vol 97 (issue 4) : pp 696-702

Dates: Created 2007/03/22; Completed 2007/03/26; Revised 2008/11/20;

PMID: 17329660, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Humans
Male
Overweight
Risk Factors
Schools
Seasons
Weight Gain

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