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Paul T. von Hippel, PhD, Brian Powell, PhD, Douglas B. Downey, PhD and Nicholas J. Rowland, MA

Paul T. von Hippel is with the Department of Sociology and the Initiative for Population Research, Ohio State University, Columbus. Brian Powell is with the Department of Sociology, Indiana University, Bloomington. Douglas B. Downey is with the Department of Sociology, Ohio State University, Columbus. Nicholas J. Rowland is a doctoral student in the Department of Sociology at Indiana University, Bloomington.

Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to Paul T. von Hippel, PhD, Department of Sociology, Ohio State University, 300 Bricker Hall, 190 N Oval Mall, Columbus, OH 43210 (e-mail: von-hippel.1{at}sociology.osu.edu).

Objectives. To determine whether school or nonschool environments contribute more to childhood overweight, we compared children’s gains in body mass index (BMI) when school is in session (during the kindergarten and first-grade school years) with their gains in BMI when school is out (during summer vacation).

Methods. The BMIs of 5380 children in 310 schools were measured as part of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Cohort. We used these measurements to estimate BMI gain rates during kindergarten, summer, and first grade.

Results. Growth in BMI was typically faster and more variable during summer vacation than during the kindergarten and first-grade school years. The difference between school and summer gain rates was especially large for 3 at-risk subgroups: Black children, Hispanic children, and children who were already overweight at the beginning of kindergarten.

Conclusions. Although a school’s diet and exercise policies may be less than ideal, it appears that early school environments contribute less to overweight than do nonschool environments.

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