Adult Obesity Linked To Childhood Emotional Problems

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Main Category: Obesity / Weight Loss / Fitness
Also Included In: Pediatrics / Children's Health
Article Date: 11 Sep 2009 - 1:00 PST

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A UK study suggests that children with emotional difficulties are at higher risk of becoming obese when they grow up, and while the researchers said the findings don't show that emotional problems like low self esteem, being overly worried or feeling less in control of one's life in childhood actually cause obesity in adulthood, they are a significant factor, alongside parental BMI, diet and exercise.

The study was the work of Andrew Ternouth, David Collier and Barbara Maughan from the MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre at the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, and is soon to be published online in the journal BMC Medicine.

Previous studies have suggested that people who are overweight or obese also have emotional problems like low self-esteem, but which causes the other is not clear.

For the study, Ternouth and colleagues examined data from about 6,500 people who were enrolled in the 1970 British Birth Cohort Study when they were 10 years old, at which time their emotional problems, self-perceptions and BMI were assessed. BMI stands for Body Mass Index, the ratio of a person's weight in kilos to the square of their height in metres.

The participants were assessed again 20 years later, when they reached the age of 30.

The results showed that participants who scored low on self-esteem, and those who had felt less in control of their lives, and who worried more often as children, were the ones most likely to put on weight as adults 20 years later.

The researchers also found that the link between childhood emotional problems and being overweight or obese in adulthood was slightly stronger in girls than it was in boys.

They concluded that:

"Given the growing problem with childhood obesity in many western societies, these findings are particularly important. On a larger scale, they may offer hope in the battle to control the current obesity epidemic."

The researchers suggest that helping children with emotional difficulties like anxiety and low self esteem could improve their chances of being in better physical health as adults.

Ternouth told the press that:

"Strategies to promote social and emotional aspects of learning, including the promotion of self-esteem, are central to a number of recent policy initiatives."

"Our findings suggest that approaches of this kind may carry positive benefits for physical health as well as for other aspects of children's development," he added.

Dr Ian Campbell, of the charity, Weight Concern, commented to the BBC that the "disturbing evidence" of the study confirmed their own suspicions that "childhood psychological issues have an influence on future weight gain and health".

He said many of the adults the charity helps have underlying emotional and self esteem problems and are often resistant to treatment.

The message, said Campbell, is that intervention should be early, and spotting these issues in childhood could be an important step in combating obesity in adulthood.

It's not just up to doctors and health practitioners, but the job of everyone involved in the welfare of children, including parents and teachers, he said.

"Childhood emotional problems and self-perceptions predict weight gain in a longitudinal regression model."
Andrew Ternouth, David Collier and Barbara Maughan.
BMC Medicine, in press (anticipated Sep 09).

Source: BioMed Central, BBC.

Written by: Catharine Paddock, PhD
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today