Growth in obese children treated for obesity

L. H. Epstein, J. McCurley, A. Valoski and R. R. Wing
Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, University of Pittsburgh, School of Medicine, PA.

This study assesses the growth patterns during a 5-year period in children aged 6 to 12 years treated for obesity using behavioral family-based treatment procedures. Previous studies have suggested a decrease in height velocity after weight reduction, but these results did not consider either the height of the parent or the greater height of obese than nonobese children. Results show that at entry, obese children are taller than their nonobese peers (74th percentile), and that even after 5 years, they remain taller than the norm (65th percentile). Child weight and level of physical maturity accounted for 54% of the variance in predicting baseline height percentile. Entrance height and parental height accounted for 9% of the variance in changes in height percentile, both adjusted for parental height. Weight change did not correlate with growth adjusted for parental height. These results do not suggest that negative effects on height are a long-term side effect of child weight control.