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Overweight and school performance among primary school children: the PIAMA birth cohort study

Jorien Veldwijk1, Marieke C E Fries, Wanda J E Bemelmans

  • 1National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, The Netherlands. Jorien.Veldwijk@rivm.nl

Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.)
|October 28, 2011
PubMed

Insights

Overweight children showed lower school performance, but this association disappeared after accounting for parental education, breakfast habits, and screen time. Parental education strongly influenced results.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatrics
  • Child Psychology
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Childhood overweight is a growing concern with potential impacts on development.
  • School performance is a critical indicator of a child's developmental trajectory.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine the prospective association between overweight and school performance in primary school children.
  • To identify potential confounding and mediating factors influencing this relationship.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized data from 2,159 children in the Prevention and Incidence of Asthma and Mite Allergy (PIAMA) birth cohort.
  • Assessed school performance using standardized achievement test (Cito-test) scores and teacher's secondary education advice.
  • Measured height and weight at ages 8 and 12, defining overweight using age/gender-specific cut-offs.

Main Results:

  • Overweight children exhibited lower Cito-test scores and teacher's school-level advice.
  • These associations became non-significant after adjusting for parental educational level, skipping breakfast, and screen time.
  • Parental educational level emerged as a significant confounder.

Conclusions:

  • No independent association was found between childhood overweight and school performance.
  • Parental educational level, breakfast consumption, and screen time significantly confound the relationship.
  • Further research should consider these factors in understanding child development and academic success.

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