Using data from the Canadian National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY), this study examines how and why health outcomes exhibit persistence during the period from childhood to adolescence.  Our analysis indicates that children living in poorer neighborhoods, in neighborhoods with lower education levels and in neighborhoods with more families headed by lone-parents tend to experience poor health status for longer after a transition to it, while children tend to experience multiple health drops living in poorer neighborhoods, in neighborhoods with less educated people, in neighborhoods with more families headed by lone-parents and in neighborhoods with more families living in rental accommodation.