O B E S I T Y I N C H I L D H O O D : S E C U L A R T R E N D O R E P I D E M I C D I S E A S E ? Figure 1: Weight difference for boys and girls between the Kloosterman study and the Perinatal regis-‐ tration. For the Maastricht study the length and weight data of 1988 and 2007 showed no difference. Weight plotted against height also revealed no difference between the two study groups despite an interval of 20 years. Postnatal growth studies In Table 1 and Table 2 the differences for height and weight between the studies of van Wieringen and Fredriks are presented for girls and boys. The mean data for height show that in the more recent study (Fredriks) both boys and girls were shorter from birth onwards until the age of approximately two years. The maxi-‐ mum difference in this time period between both studies is -‐0.9 cm for girls and -‐ 0.7 cm for boys. At the age of two and a half years and further the height in the more recent study is increased with a maximal difference between both studies of 4.3 cm in girls and 3.4 cm in boys at the age of ten years. For weight a similar pattern is seen (Table 1). Until the age of four years the chil-‐ dren from the more recent study of Fredriks had a lower mean weight compared to the children from the study of van Wieringen. After the age of four to five years there is a turning point. The children from the more recent study have a higher weight and this difference is increasing with the age. The differences in height and weight between the two studies are given for 3 percentiles (P3, P50 and P97). These 29
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