| Study links childhood obesity and behavior problems
Currently overweight kids more likely to have behavior problems, U-M researchers say
In a study that points to the importance of considering both mind and body in children’s health, U-M researchers report that they have found a clear link between childhood obesity and behavior problems.
Results published in the journal Pediatrics show that children who have significant behavior problems, as described by their parents, are nearly three times as likely as other children to be overweight. In addition, children with behavior problems are about five times more likely to become overweight later.
The study, lead by a University of Michigan behavioral pediatrician, is based on national data from an intensive long-term survey of mothers and children conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor.
"This demonstrates solidly for the first time what we have suspected for years from clinical experience, that there is an association between behavior problems and obesity, and that a child with behavior problems is more likely to go on to be overweight. This is true regardless of socioeconomic status," says Julie Lumeng, M.D., a research investigator at the U-M Center for Human Growth and Development and clinical instructor in the U-M Department of Pediatrics.
"In other words, we can’t ignore either the mind or the body in trying to prevent the lifelong health effects from weight problems and mental disorders that start in childhood," she adds. "When interventions aren’t working with a child who is overweight, we need to address his or her mental well-being—and vice versa for kids with behavioral problems."
Armed with strong suggestions of some direct link between behavior problems and overweight, Lumeng says the next challenge is to understand what’s going on.
Genetics, as well as a family’s cultural and home environment, are known to play a role in the tendency of children to become overweight, and researchers are exploring how brain chemistry, sleep habits and home environment affect behavior and learning.
Meanwhile, social research is looking at how stigmas or lifestyle changes from being overweight, or from having a diagnosed or undiagnosed behavior issue, affect children.
For example, Lumeng says, children who are depressed are often less active, or may console themselves with food, which may set them up for weight gain. And overweight children may develop anxieties or social interaction problems because of self-consciousness or teasing about their weight. But only further research will show for sure. |
