Our Work
Publications of the Obesity Dynamics project
01
This study contributes to the growing literature on the association between sleep and obesity by examining the associations between hours of sleepl consistency of bedtime, and obesity among children in the U.S.
02
A comprehensive review of the literature on childhood risk factors and their associations with adulthood subclinical and clinical cardiovascular disease (CVD).
03
Obesity prevalence among children and adolescents has risen sharply, yet there is a limit understanding of the age-specific dynamics of obesity as there is no single nationally representative cohort following children into young adulthood. Investigators constructed a pooled data set of 5 nationally representative panels and modeled age-specific obesity incidence from childhood into young adulthood.
04
Examine childhood obesity incidence across recent cohorts. The incidence of childhood obesity was higher, occurred at younger ages, and was more severe than 12 years previous; thus, more youths may now be at risk for health consequences associated with early onset of obesity.
05
Evaluated whether children with overweight and obesity had similar changes in body mass index (BMI) and cardiopulmonary fitness (CPF) as normal weight children after participating in a program for one academic year.
06
Understand the body mass index (BMI) trajectories in and out of obesity from adolescence to adulthood. More than 50% of adolescents with normal BMI moved to overweight/ obesity by adulthood; only 8% of adolescents with overweight and 2% with obesity achieved normal BMI in adulthood.
07
Examine the effects of genetic risk of diabetes and later-life behavioral and life-style characteristics associated with diabetes. Regardless of race, genetics were assocaited with diabetes onset. Behavioral or lifestyle characteristics still play a role as they might delay or prevent diabetes onset, and lifestyle interventions have indeed been useful in prevention of type II diabetes.
08
Young sons of Mexican immigrants have a higher BMI than White children. This difference emerges close to the start of kindergarten. Indeed, childhood is a critical period for exacerbation of health disadvantages for Mexican-heritage sons of foreign mothers. Children from Mexican immigrant familites are less likely to receive centre-based care, this could potentially explain the different experienced across ethic groups at this age.
09
Obesity and cigarette smoking together accounted for 17-38% of disability incidence in the U.S. and each of them contributed equally. Obesity and smoking are key contributors to disability incidence. The results suggest that a high BMI early in life may contribute to disability risk as obesity is associated with disabling conditions including diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, arthritis. Similarly, smoking influences disability as it contributes to the risk of respiratory illness, vascular disease and other conditions.
10
Educational disparities in disability incidence were found in women and men at younger and older ages, however were largest among older women. The main contributors to disparities were found to be excess BMI and smoking in younger women, manual labour and smoking in younger men, excess BMI in older women and smoking in older men.
11
Incident obesity between the ages of 5 and 14 years was more likely to have occurred at younger ages, primarily among children who had entered kindergarten overweight. The annual incidence of obesity decreased from 5.4% during kindergarten to 1.7% between fifth and eighth grade.
12
About 63% of children who experience obesity between ages 5.6 and 9.1; 72% of those who had obesity at kindergarten entry experience tranched obesity.
13
The household structure could be associated with a children's wellbeing. Children whose parents are married or live with them tend to have better outcomes, as we see greater investment in resources like food, vaccination, and school expenses. Often, children living in poorer families are more likely to develop obesity.