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Updated: Jun 29, 2026
Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study
Published on: February 2, 2017
Body mass index and health related quality of life in elementary school children: a pilot study
Lei Zhang1, Peter J Fos, William D Johnson
1Mississippi State Department of Health, Jackson, MS, USA. lei.zhang@msdh.state.ms.us
Insights
High Body Mass Index (BMI) in elementary students is linked to lower physical health scores. Interventions promoting healthy weight may improve children's overall health-related quality of life (HRQOL).
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Public Health
- Childhood Obesity
Background:
- Investigated the link between Body Mass Index (BMI) and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in elementary school children.
- Established baseline health status as an indicator for HRQOL.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the relationship between children's BMI and their physical and psychosocial health.
- To provide baseline data for tracking changes in BMI and health status over time.
- To explore potential links between BMI, academic performance, and intellectual ability.
Main Methods:
- Survey data collected from parents of elementary school children (K-4th grade) in southern Mississippi.
- Utilized the SF-10 for Children questionnaire to assess children's HRQOL.
- 279 parent-completed questionnaires provided data for analysis.
Main Results:
- Children in the study showed significantly higher physical and psychosocial HRQOL scores compared to national averages.
- High BMI was significantly associated with physical summary scores below the U.S. norm (p = 0.003).
- While males had better physical functioning and females better psychosocial health, gender and grade were not significant predictors of overall scores.
Conclusions:
- Findings provide essential baseline data for future longitudinal studies on BMI and health in children.
- Programs promoting healthy weight management in children could positively impact physical, psychosocial health, and overall HRQOL.
- Further research can investigate the interplay of BMI, health, academic performance, and cognitive function.
Background:
We investigated the relationship between Body Mass Index (BMI) and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) indicated by baseline health status in elementary school children.
Methods:
Data were obtained via parents whose children enrolled in an elementary school, kindergarten to fourth grade, in southern Mississippi in spring 2004. Parents completed the SF-10 for Children, a brief 10-item questionnaire designed to measure children's HRQOL on a voluntary basis.
Results:
A total of 279 parents completed the questionnaires for their children. On average, physical and psychosocial summary scores, major indicators for HRQOL, were significantly higher among the elementary school children in our study relative to those from U.S. children overall (p < 0.0001 and p = 0.0007, respectively). Males tended to have better physical functioning than their female classmates, whereas females had better psychosocial health. Overall, except for third graders, the physical summary scores increased as grade level increased. The means for psychosocial score fluctuated without a clear pattern over the five grade levels. High level of BMI was significantly associated with children's physical summary scores below 50, a norm used for U.S. children (p = 0.003). Gender and grade were not significant predictors of children's physical and psychosocial scores.
Discussion:
This study can be used as baseline information to track changes over time, in BMI and health status among the elementary school children. In addition, this study can be used to investigate relationships between BMI, health status, intellectual ability, and performance in school.
Conclusion:
The findings suggest that programs designed to encourage children to lose weight in a healthy manner, thus reducing their BMI, could improve the physical and psychosocial health, and subsequently increase HRQOL.
