Abstract
Physical health in childhood is crucial for neurobiological as well as overall development, and can shape long-term outcomes into adulthood. The landmark, longitudinal Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development StudySM (ABCD study®), was designed to investigate brain development and health in almost 12,000 youth who were recruited when they were 9-10 years old and will be followed through adolescence and early adulthood. The overall goal of this paper is to provide descriptive analyses of physical health measures in the ABCD study at baseline, including but not limited to sleep, physical activity and sports involvement, and body mass index, and how these measures vary across demographic groups. This paper outlines how the physical health of the ABCD sample corresponds with that of the US population and highlights important avenues for health disparity research. This manuscript will provide important information for ABCD users and help guide analyses investigating physical health as it pertains to adolescent and young adult development.
Competing Interest Statement
Data used in the preparation of this article were obtained from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study (https://abcdstudy.org), held in the NIMH Data Archive (NDA). This is a multisite, longitudinal study designed to recruit more than 10,000 children age 9 and 10 and follow them over 10 years into early adulthood. A listing of participating sites and a complete listing of the study investigators can be found at https://abcdstudy.org. ABCD consortium investigators designed and implemented the study and/or provided data but did not necessarily participate in analysis or writing of this report. Dr. Gayathri Dowling was substantially involved in all of the cited grants. All other Federal representatives contributed to the interpretation of the data and participated in the preparation, review and approval of the manuscript, consistent with their roles on the ABCD Federal Partners Group. The views and opinions expressed in this manuscript are those of the authors only and do not necessarily represent the views, official policy or position of the ABCD consortium investigators or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services or any of its affiliated institutions or agencies.