Background: We examined prevalence, incidence, and trajectory of obesity from kindergarten through grade 8 in one of the first states to implement annual surveillance. Methods: Participants included 16,414 children enrolled in kindergarten in Arkansas in 2004 with complete body mass index (BMI) measurements in kindergarten and eighth grade.…

"The Status of Women in North Carolina: Health & Wellness" is the second in a series of four publications on women's status in North Carolina. Good health, access to health services, and the ability to live in a safe environment are critical to the economic security and overall well-being of North Carolina women. While poor health…

Over the past three years, the Boston Birth to Eight Collaborative has convened more than 200 individuals and organizations from across the early childhood field--center and family-based providers, pediatricians, public health researchers, hospitals, family engagement organizations, and parents--to ensure all children are ready for sustained…

The purpose of this study was to survey the weight status of children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) in Iranian pupils and further to investigate the most likely associated factors such as demographics, autism severity and medications. The survey was designed to provide a random sample of 113 children and adolescents (boys =…

KIDS COUNT has used data to help call attention to emerging trends impacting kids in communities across the state. This year, the Colorado Children's Campaign marked the 25th birthday of KIDS COUNT in Colorado! by exploring this important question: What has changed for Colorado kids in the past 25 years? Long-term trends are not possible for every…

This manual provides guidance and documentation for users of the longitudinal kindergarten-second grade (K-2) data file of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010-11 (ECLS-K:2011). It mainly provides information specific to the second-grade rounds of data collection. Users should refer to the "Early Childhood…

This manual provides guidance and documentation for users of the longitudinal kindergarten-fourth grade (K-4) public-use data file of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010-11 (ECLS-K:2011), which includes the first release of the public version of the third-grade data. This manual mainly provides information specific…

Recent research suggests that racial residential segregation may be detrimental to health. This study investigates the influence of neighborhood racial isolation on obesity and considers the role of neighborhood disorder as a mediator in this relationship. For the city of Philadelphia, we find that residence in a neighborhood with high black…

The study reported here investigates the role of pre-school education as a protective factor in the development of children who are at risk due to environmental and individual factors. This investigation builds upon earlier research by examining different kinds of "quality" in early education and tests the hypothesis that pre-schools of…

Lower birth weight babies have worse outcomes, both short-run in terms of one year mortality rates and longer run in terms of educational attainment and earnings. However, recent research has called into question whether birth weight itself is important or whether it simply reflects other hard-to-measure characteristics. By applying within twin…