Although pediatric growth curves provide clinical utility, using these metrics for within-person change over time can be misleading. As research is focused on understanding cardiometabolic consequences of weight gain, it is important to use precise metrics to analyze these longitudinal research questions. Despite several foundational recommendations to limit the use of reference pediatric growth curves (e.g., BMI z scores) for within-person longitudinal research, it has evolved into the “gold standard” for using growth curves for pediatric weight gain analyses. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to discuss (A) the methodology used to create reference growth curves; (B) the appropriate use of reference pediatric BMI growth curves within the context of cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses in research; and (C) how to select metrics based on desired evaluations. Careful consideration using standardized references scores is essential when assessing obesity-related questions and comorbid risk over time in pediatric populations.

中文翻译：

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BMI z 分数评估体重变化的局限性：临床工具与个人风险


尽管儿科生长曲线具有临床实用性，但使用这些指标来衡量人体内随时间的变化可能会产生误导。由于研究的重点是了解体重增加对心脏代谢的影响，因此使用精确的指标来分析这些纵向研究问题非常重要。尽管有几项基本建议限制使用参考儿科生长曲线（例如，BMI z分数）进行人内纵向研究，但它已发展成为使用生长曲线进行儿科体重增加分析的“黄金标准”。因此，本文的目的是讨论（A）用于创建参考生长曲线的方法； (B) 在研究的横断面和纵向分析范围内适当使用参考儿科体重指数增长曲线； (C) 如何根据所需的评估选择指标。在评估儿科人群中与肥胖相关的问题和随时间推移的共病风险时，必须仔细考虑使用标准化参考分数。