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Childhood obesity increased risk for developmental, physical health problems
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The prevalence of obesity among children has yielded significant research interests, but the relationship between childhood obesity and its mental, developmental and physical health ramifications have been poorly understood. In the journal Academic Pediatrics, researchers from UCLA report that obese children could have greater health risks than previously thought.
“This study paints a comprehensive picture of childhood obesity, and we were surprised to see just how many conditions were associated with childhood obesity,” researcher Neal Halfon, MD, MPH, professor of pediatrics, public health and public policy at UCLA, and director of the UCLA Center for Healthier Children, Families and Communities, said in a press release. “The findings should serve as a wake-up call to physicians, parents and teachers, who should be informed of the risk for other health conditions associated with childhood obesity so that they can target interventions that can result in better health outcomes.”
According to data, 15% of all US children were considered to be overweight (BMI: 85th percentile to <95th percentile) and 16% were considered to be obese (BMI: ≥95th percentile). Also, when researchers compared them with children not considered to be overweight, the obese children were more likely to self-report “good, fair or poor health” (adjusted OR=2.18; 95% CI, 1.76-2.69); activity restrictions (AOR=1.39; 95% CI, 1.10-1.75); internalizing problems (AOR=1.59; 95% CI, 1.04-2.45); externalizing problems (AOR=1.33; 95% CI, 1.07-1.65); grade repetition (AOR=1.57; 95% CI 1.24-1.99); school problems; and absenteeism.
Furthermore, obese children were also more likely to develop attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), conduct disorders, depression, learning disabilities, developmental delays, bone/joint/muscle problems, asthma, allergies, headaches and ear infections, researchers said.
“Obesity might be causing the comorbidity, or perhaps the comorbidity is causing obesity — or both might be caused by some other unmeasured third factor,” Halfon said in the release. “For example, exposure to toxic stress might change the neuroregulatory processes that affect impulse control seen in ADHD, as well as leptin sensitivity, which can contribute to weight gain. An understanding of the association of obesity with other comorbidities may provide important information about causal pathways to obesity and more effective ways to prevent it.”
Further studies are warranted to research the causal relationships that cannot be determined by cross-sectional studies, the researchers wrote.
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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