Healthy-Weight Kindergarten Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder May Become Overweight and Obese during the First Few Years of Elementary School

Misha Eliasziw; Tanja V E Kral; Mary Segal; Linmarie Sikich; Sarah Phillips; David J Tybor; Linda G Bandini; Carol Curtin; Aviva Must

doi:10.1016/j.ympdx.2021.100074

Healthy-Weight Kindergarten Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder May Become Overweight and Obese during the First Few Years of Elementary School

J Pediatr X. 2021 Sep 22:7:100074. doi: 10.1016/j.ympdx.2021.100074. eCollection 2021 Summer.

Authors

Misha Eliasziw¹, Tanja V E Kral², Mary Segal³, Linmarie Sikich⁴, Sarah Phillips⁵, David J Tybor¹, Linda G Bandini^{6

7}, Carol Curtin⁶, Aviva Must¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA.
² Department of Biobehavioral Health Sciences, School of Nursing, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA.
³ The Research Center for Health Care Decision-Making, Inc., Wyndmoor, PA.
⁴ Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC.
⁵ Department of Nursing and Health Professions, Rivier University, Nashua, NH.
⁶ Eunice Kennedy Shriver Center, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA.
⁷ Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA.

Abstract

Analysis of a population-based, nationally-representative longitudinal sample from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010-11 identified an increase in healthy-weight children with autism spectrum disorder becoming overweight and obese between first and second grade, thus identifying a critical period for early prevention and treatment.

Keywords: body mass index; childhood development; intellectual disability.

Publication types

Case Reports