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Childhood overweight and parent- and teacher-reported behavior problems: evidence from a prospective study of

Ashlesha Datar1, Roland Sturm

  • 1RAND, Santa Monica, CA 90407, USA. datar@rand.org

Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine
|August 4, 2004
PubMed

Insights

Childhood overweight is linked to behavior problems in girls at kindergarten entry, but not boys. Overweight status does not predict new behavior issues over the first two school years.

Area of Science:

  • Child Psychology
  • Pediatric Health
  • Behavioral Science

Background:

  • Childhood overweight is a growing concern with potential links to behavioral health.
  • Understanding the early associations between weight status and behavior problems is crucial for timely intervention.
  • Existing research has not fully clarified the relationship between overweight and behavior problems in early school-aged children.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between overweight and behavioral health in children at kindergarten entry.
  • To determine if overweight status is a risk factor for developing new behavior problems during the first two years of elementary school.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized data from a nationally representative sample of U.S. kindergartners (n=9949) from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten class.
  • Collected data on child height, weight, and parent/teacher-reported behavior problems at three time points during the first two school years.
  • Employed multivariate regression analysis, controlling for sociodemographic factors, parent-child interaction, birth weight, and maternal mental health.

Main Results:

  • A significant association was found between overweight status and externalizing and internalizing behavior problems in girls, but not in boys, at kindergarten entry.
  • Overweight status was not identified as a predictor for the onset of new internalizing or externalizing behavior problems over the two-year study period for either gender.
  • Low family income and maternal depression emerged as significant predictors of new behavior problems over time.

Conclusions:

  • Childhood overweight is associated with existing behavior problems in girls upon school entry, but this association is not observed in boys.
  • Contrary to some expectations, overweight status does not appear to be a risk factor for the development of new behavior problems during the initial two years of schooling.
  • Factors such as socioeconomic status and maternal mental health play a more substantial role in predicting the emergence of behavior problems in early school years.
Abstract

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