Table 2.
Descriptive characteristics for children in the longitudinal analytical sample. New Jersey Child Health Study (2009–2017)
| Variable | Data |
|---|---|
| Characteristics at time 1 | |
| Age, n (%) | |
| 3–11 y | 276 (61.5) |
| 12–15 y | 173 (38.5) |
| Sex, n (%) | |
| Male | 239 (53.2) |
| Female | 210 (46.7) |
| Race and ethnicity, n (%) | |
| Non-Hispanic Black | 217 (48.3) |
| Hispanic | 154 (34.3) |
| Non-Hispanic White/other | 78 (17.4) |
| Obesea n (%) | |
| No | 334 (74.4) |
| Yes | 115 (25.6) |
| zBMIb score, mean (SDc) | 0.7 (1.4) |
| Household poverty level,d mean (SD) | 2.6 (3.9) |
| Census block group population,e mean (SD) | 1,424 (635) |
| Census block group annual household income, $,e mean (SD) | 35,899 (19,782) |
| Months between time 1 and time 2, mean (SD) | 40.6 (18.1) |
| zBMI change (time 2 – time 1), mean (SD) | −0.2 (1.5) |
| zBMI change category, n (%) | |
| Negative change (< −10.5) | 151 (33.6) |
| No change ( ≥0.5 and ≤ +0.5) | 185 (41.2) |
| Positive change (> +0.5) | 113 (25.2) |
| N | 449 |
a
Obesity is defined using the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s definition1 as a BMI ≥ 95th percentile for children of the same age and sex.
b
zBMI = body mass index z score.
c
SD = standard deviation.
d
Poverty level was calculated as the ratio of annual household income and federal poverty level for the year in which the survey was conducted.
e
Census Block Group data were obtained from the American Community Survey 5-year data files,42 corresponding with the years of the survey.