Prediction of childhood overweight and obesity at age 10–11: findings from the Studying Lifecourse Obesity PrEdictors and the Born in Bradford cohorts

Researchers developed and validated prediction models to identify children at risk of overweight or obesity at age 10-11 years using data collected at age 4-5 years and maternal health data. The models incorporated childhood BMI and sex as predictors, with additional improvement in prediction when maternal predictors like BMI, smoking, age, educational attainment, ethnicity, parity, and employment status were included. The models demonstrated good calibration and can help target early preventive interventions to reduce childhood obesity prevalence using routinely collected data. At age 4-5 years, the models can assess children's overweight risk later in life.