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Title: METABOLIC AND BEHAVIORAL PREDICTORS OF WEIGHT GAIN IN HISPANIC CHILDREN: THE VIVA LA FAMILIA STUDY

Author
item Butte, Nancy
item CAI, GUOWEN - BAYLOR COLLEGE MED
item COLE, SHELLEY - SW FND FOR BIOMED RES
item WILSON, THERESA - BAYLOR COLLEGE MED
item Fisher, Jennifer
item Zakeri, Issa
item Ellis, Kenneth
item COMUZZIE, ANTHONY - SW FND FOR BIOMED RES

Submitted to: The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/25/2007
Publication Date: 6/7/2007
Citation: Butte, N.F., Cai, G., Cole, S.A., Wilson, T.A., Fisher, J.O., Zakeri, I.F., Ellis, K.J., Comuzzie, A.G. 2007. Metabolic and behavioral predictors of weight gain in Hispanic children: The Viva la Familia Study. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 85(6):1478-1485.

Interpretive Summary: Despite the high prevalence of overweight among Hispanic children in the US, prospective studies aimed at understanding the development of obesity have not been conducted in this population. The objective of our study was to identify sociodemographic, metabolic, and behavioral predictors of 1-year weight gain in a large cohort of Hispanic children in Viva la Familia Study. We measured 1-year changes in weight and body composition by dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) in 879 children, ages 4-19 y. Data were from parental interviews, birth certificates, multiple-pass 24-h dietary recalls, 3-d physical activity monitoring, 24-h respiration calorimetry, eating behavior, and fasting blood biochemistries. We found that weight gain was significantly higher in overweight than non-overweight children, and in boys than girls, adjusted for age, age2, and Tanner stage (P=0.001). We found that age, sexual maturation, child’s body mass index (BMI) status, maternal BMI, energy expenditure, and fasting blood biochemistries were independent, positive predictors of weight gain. Knowledge of the natural progression and metabolic and behavioral predictors of obesity in Hispanic children will inform prevention and treatment efforts to address this serious public health problem in the US.

Technical Abstract: Despite the high prevalence of overweight among Hispanic children in the United States, definitive predictors of weight gain have not been identified in this population. The study objective was to test sociodemographic, metabolic, and behavioral predictors of 1-y weight gains in a large cohort of Hispanic children studied longitudinally. Subjects (n = 879) were siblings from 319 Hispanic families enrolled in the Viva la Familia Study. Families were required to have at least one overweight child aged 4-19 y. One-year changes in weight and body composition by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry were measured. Data were from parental interviews, birth certificates, multiple-pass 24-h dietary recalls, 3-d accelerometry, 24-h respiration calorimetry, measurements of eating in the absence of hunger, and measurement of fasting blood biochemistry indexes by radioimmunoassay. Generalized estimating equations and principal component analysis were applied. Weight gain increased with age (P = 0.001), peaking at approximately 10 y of age in girls and approximately 11 y of age in boys. Mean (+/-SD) weight gain was significantly higher in overweight (7.5 +/- 3.7 kg/y) than in nonoverweight (4.4 +/- 2.4 kg/y) children and in boys than in girls. When adjusted for age, age squared, sex, and Tanner stage, the final model indicated a child's body mass index (BMI; kg/m2) status, maternal BMI, energy expenditure (total energy expenditure, basal metabolic rate, and sleeping metabolic rate), and fasting blood biochemistry indexes (total triiodothyronine, insulin, leptin, and ghrelin) as independent, positive predictors of weight gain (P = 0.01-0.001). Knowledge of the metabolic and behavioral predictors of weight gain in Hispanic children will inform prevention and treatment efforts to address this serious public health problem in the United States.