Fig. 1: BMI z-score trajectories from age 5 to 43 years.

Five BMI trajectories were identified using group-based trajectory modelling. Body mass index was measured at age 5, 7, 10, 13, 15, 20, 30 and 43 years, and each node in the graph represents the mean BMI z-score at each age. The persistently average trajectory comprised 50.3% of participants; the persistently low trajectory, 26.7%; the child high-decreasing trajectory, 14.1%; the child average-increasing trajectory, 5.8% and the persistently high trajectory, 3.1%.