New research reported in The Journal of Pediatrics suggests that young girls are more likely to become overweight as tweens (between the ages of nine and twelve) than as teenagers.
Researchers tracked more than 2300 girls starting at the age of nine and followed them until they were 18, while annually measuring height, weight, blood pressure and cholesterol.
They found the girls were most likely to pack on extra pounds between the ages of 9 and 12, compared to later years.
While a number of factors may play a role, researchers speculate it may be due to the fact that during the tween years, girls are more likely to ignore parental dietary advice and eat with friends, they also do less physical activity.
According to Statistics Canada, over one third of Canadian children between the ages of 2 and 11 are overweight.
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