Psychiatric comorbidity associated with weight status in 9 to 10 year old children

Paediatric overweight and obesity (OW/OB) constitute a serious public health concern. Given that psychological problems may be key contributors to the onset and maintenance of paediatric obesity, the present study examined past and current psychiatric comorbidities across the weight spectrum during middle childhood among a nationally representative sample.

Participants were 11 708 9- to 10-year-old children (31.6% with OW/OB) and their caregivers who participated in the first wave of data collection in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study. Logistic regressions were used to examine the association between weight status (i.e., underweight, healthy weight, OW, OB) and likelihood of current/past psychiatric diagnoses.

Compared to healthy weight children, those with OW/OB were more likely to have current/past major depressive disorder and binge eating disorder. Relative to healthy weight children, those with OB were more likely to have prior separation anxiety disorder, current specific phobia and oppositional defiant disorder; those with OW were more likely to have PTSD; and those with underweight were more likely to have ADHD.

Results suggest cross-sectional associations among negative emotionality, binge eating, and OW/OB, and highlight the need for ongoing prospective research to investigate directionality of associations and mechanisms of effects.