Citation

Downey DB, Boughton HR. New Dir. Youth Dev. 2007; 2007(114): 33-43.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2007, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1002/yd.211

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The nationwide increase in obesity affects all population sectors, but the impact on children is of special concern because overweight children are prone to becoming overweight adults. Contrary to the opinion of experts, research suggests that schools may be more part of the solution than the problem. Recent seasonal comparison research (comparing children's outcomes during the summer and during school year) reports that children gain body mass index (BMI) nearly twice as fast during the summer as during the school year. Whereas most children experience healthier BMI gain during the school year than the summer, this is especially the case for black and Hispanic children and for children already overweight.