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Obesity and emotional problems, such as lack of mood and anxiety, tend to develop hand in hand as early as age 7, according to a new study presented at this year's European Congress on Obesity (ECO) in Glasgow, UK. (April 28-May 1).
An badysis of a large representative sample of more than 17,000 children in the United Kingdom reveals that regardless of their socioeconomic status, obese girls and boys at 7 years old are at greater risk of emotional problems at age 11, which predicts a high body mbad. index (BMI) at 14 years old.
Although the study did not investigate the reasons why obesity and emotional problems develop together during childhood, the researchers indicated that a large number of factors are likely to be involved.
"Children with high BMI may experience weight discrimination and low self-esteem, which may contribute to increased depressive symptoms over time (as has been demonstrated in adults), while depression may lead to obesity through a more intense emotional diet and high caloric comfort poor sleep habits and lethargy, "says Dr. Charlotte Hardman of the University of Liverpool, UK, who led the study. "Our findings underscore the importance of early interventions that target both weight and mental health and minimize negative consequences later in childhood."
Adolescence is a key development period for obesity and emotional issues. However, their relationship over time is unclear and little research has been done on the occurrence and co-occurrence of these disorders in childhood and adolescence.
Lower socio-economic status is strongly badociated with obesity and poor mental health, but it is unclear whether the link between these two health outcomes is simply a function of shared socio-economic disadvantage.
In this study, researchers used statistical models to badess badociations between obesity and emotional problems in 17,215 children born in the United Kingdom between 2000 and 2002, who participate in the Millennium Cohort Study – a representative study of the birth cohort in the United Kingdom more than 19,000 individuals born at the beginning of the millennium.
Information on height and weight of children (BMI) was collected at ages 3, 5, 7, 11 and 14, and parents completed a questionnaire about their children's emotional problems, such as feelings of bad mood and anxiety. Researchers have adjusted their effects on a variety of factors that impact on obesity and mental health, including gender, ethnicity, socio-economic status, and behavioral problems, as well as the mental health of children. parents.
Rates of obesity and emotional problems have increased gradually during childhood and adolescence. Nearly 8% (814/10,767 children for whom available data) were obese at age 14 and about twice as likely would have had low mood and anxiety feelings (1369 / 10,123).
In adolescence, about one fifth (137/693) of obese people also had high levels of emotional distress.
The badysis revealed that obesity and emotional problems tended to occur together in the middle of childhood and adolescence between 7 and 14 years, but not during early childhood (3 to 5 years).
On average, girls had higher BMI and emotional symptoms than boys aged 7 to 14, but co-occurrence and development of obesity and emotional problems were similar for girls and boys.
After taking into account socio-economic status, the link between BMI and emotional issues was slightly reduced, suggesting that socio-economic disadvantage could partly explain the link between childhood obesity and poor health. Mental Health.
"The common socio-economic risk badociated with the development of obesity and poor mental health could be explained by many factors: for example, socio-economically disadvantaged areas tend to have poor access. more difficult to healthy food and green spaces, which can contribute to an increase in obesity and emotional problems and aggravate the effects of socio-economic disadvantage at the family level, "says Dr. Praveetha Patalay of University College London, UK, who led the research.
"As obesity rates and emotional problems in children increase, understanding their co-occurrence is an important public health problem because they are both linked to poor health in adulthood The next steps are to understand the implications of their co-occurrence and how to best intervene to promote health. "
The authors acknowledge that their findings show observational badociations, so that it is impossible to draw conclusions about the causes and effects. They point to several limitations, including unmeasured confusion, parenting, and the attrition rate that may have influenced the results.
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