Weight trajectories of Israeli pediatric cancer survivors

Objective Cross-national replication of the high rates of overweight/obesity among U.S. pediatric cancer survivors (PCS) is limited. Predictors of weight trajectories of Israeli PCS were examined from diagnosis and end of active cancer treatment to 3 years posttreatment. Methods World Health Organization-derived body mass index (z-BMI) values were calculated at each time point from medical records of 135 Israeli PCS (M diagnosis age=11.4). A three-section piecewise multilevel model including age, ethnicity, gender, treatment length, and diagnosis as predictors was used to estimate z-BMI trajectories. Results Most participants remained at a healthy weight at all time points. Differing weight trajectories emerged for PCS diagnosed with lymphoma/leukemia versus other cancer diagnoses from diagnosis to end of treatment, but similar weight change patterns were observed posttreatment. Conclusion Replication of U.S. PCS weight trajectories was not observed in Israeli PCS, suggesting the importance of exploring environmental risk factors contributing to obesity among PCS.