TY - JOUR AU - Beckerman-Hsu, Jacob P. AU - Aftosmes-Tobio, Alyssa AU - Lansburg, Kindra AU - Leonard, Jessie AU - Torrico, Merieka AU - Kenney, Erica L. AU - Subramanian, SV AU - Haneuse, Sebastien AU - Davison, Kirsten K. PY - 2021 TI - Summer Weight Gain Among Preschool-Aged Children With Obesity: An Observational Study in Head Start T2 - Preventing Chronic Disease JO - Prev Chronic Dis SP - E25 VL - 18 CY - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia 30333, USA. N2 - School-aged children gain weight most rapidly in summer, but few studies have investigated summer weight gain among preschool-aged children. We fit continuous linear spline mixed models to test for accelerated summer weight gain among 2,044 children attending 16 Boston-area Head Start programs between fall 2016 and spring 2019. Academic year and summer rates of change in modified body mass index z-score differed (P < .001), with accelerated summer weight gain most pronounced among children with obesity. As with school-aged children, increased focus on the summer is warranted for promoting healthy weight among children in Head Start. SN - 1545-1151 UR - https://doi.org/10.5888/pcd18.200532 DO - 10.5888/pcd18.200532 ER -