TY - JOUR T1 - CRossing growth percentiles in infancy and risk of obesity in childhood AU - Taveras EM, Rifas-Shiman SL, Sherry B, et al Y1 - 2011/11/01 N1 - 10.1001/archpediatrics.2011.167 JO - Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine SP - 993 EP - 998 VL - 165 IS - 11 N2 - Objective  To examine the associations of upward crossing of major percentiles in weight-for-length in the first 24 months of life with the prevalence of obesity at ages 5 and 10 years.Design  Longitudinal study.Setting  Multisite clinical practice.Participants  We included 44 622 children aged from 1 month to less than 11 years with 122 214 length/height and weight measurements from January 1, 1980, through December 31, 2008.Main Exposure  The number of major weight-for-length percentiles crossed during each of four 6-month intervals, that is, 1 to 6 months, 6 to 12 months, 12 to 18 months, and 18 to 24 months.Main Outcome Measures  Odds and observed prevalence of obesity (body mass index [calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared] ≥95th percentile) at ages 5 and 10 years.Results  Crossing upwards 2 or more weight-for-length percentiles was common in the first 6 months of life (43%) and less common during later age intervals. Crossing upwards 2 or more weight-for-length percentiles in the first 24 months was associated with elevated odds of obesity at ages 5 years (odds ratio, 2.08; 95% CI, 1.84-2.34) and 10 years (1.75; 1.53-2.00) compared with crossing less than 2 major percentiles. Obesity prevalence at ages 5 and 10 was highest among children who crossed upwards 2 or more weight-for-length percentiles in the first 6 months of life.Conclusions  Crossing upwards 2 or more major weight-for-length percentiles in the first 24 months of life is associated with later obesity. Upward crossing of 2 weight-for-length percentiles in the first 6 months is associated with the highest prevalence of obesity 5 and 10 years later. Efforts to curb excess weight gain in infancy may be useful in preventing later obesity. SN - 1072-4710 M3 - doi: 10.1001/archpediatrics.2011.167 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/archpediatrics.2011.167 ER -