Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 8, 2026
Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study
Published on: February 2, 2017
Quality of life in a clinical sample of obese children
A R Hughes1, K Farewell, D Harris
1Division of Developmental Medicine, Yorkhill Hospitals, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK. arh4v@clinmed.gla.ac.uk
Insights
Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is lower in obese children compared to healthy peers. Parents tend to underestimate their obese child's quality of life more than children do themselves.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Health
- Quality of Life Research
- Obesity Studies
Background:
- Childhood obesity is a growing public health concern.
- Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is a crucial indicator of well-being in pediatric populations.
- Understanding the impact of obesity on children's HRQoL is essential for effective interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To measure HRQoL in obese children using both self-report and parent-proxy report.
- To compare HRQoL assessments between obese children and their parents.
- To identify differences in HRQoL between obese children and healthy controls.
Main Methods:
- A clinical sample of 126 obese children (BMI ≥98th percentile) and 71 lean controls (BMI <85th percentile) were recruited.
- Participants were matched for age, gender, and socioeconomic status.
- The Paediatric Quality of Life Inventory (UK) version 4 was used for data collection via self-administration and interviews.
Main Results:
- Obese children reported lower HRQoL across all domains compared to healthy controls, particularly in physical and psychosocial functioning.
- Parent proxy-reports indicated significantly lower HRQoL for obese children than child self-reports in most domains.
- Discrepancies between child and parent reports were more pronounced in the obese group.
Conclusions:
- Obesity significantly impairs HRQoL in children.
- Parental perspectives may underestimate the HRQoL of obese children.
- Tailored interventions considering both child and parent viewpoints are needed to address HRQoL deficits in childhood obesity.
Objectives:
To measure health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in a clinical sample of obese children by child self-report and parent-proxy report; to compare quality of life assessments provided by obese children and their parents; to assess differences in quality of life between the obese clinical sample and healthy control children.
Design:
Pairwise comparison of obese children matched for age, gender and socio-economic status with non-obese controls.
Subjects:
One hundred and twenty-six obese children (body mass index (BMI) >/=98th centile) and 71 lean control children (BMI <85th centile). Controls were matched with 71 children from the obese clinical group (mean age 8.6, standard deviation (s.d.) 1.9 years; 33 M/38 F).
Measurement:
The Paediatric Quality of Life Inventory (UK) version 4 was self-administered to parents and to children aged 8-12 years and interview was administered to children aged 5-7 years. This questionnaire assessed physical, social, emotional and school functioning from which total, physical and psychosocial health summary scores were derived.
Results:
In the obese clinical group (n=126), parent proxy-reported quality of life was low for all domains. In the obese clinical group, parent-reported scores were significantly lower than child self-reported scores in all domains except physical health and school functioning. Parent-proxy reports were significantly higher for healthy controls than obese children in all domains (median total score 85.2 vs 64.7; 95% confidence interval (CI) 15.6, 24.1). For child self-reports, only physical health was significantly higher for healthy controls than obese children (median score 81.3 vs 75.0; 95% CI 3.1, 12.5).
Conclusions:
HRQoL is impaired in clinical samples of obese children compared to lean children, but the degree of impairment is likely to be greatest when assessed using the parent perspective rather than the child perspective.
